Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay smiled when John clapped a hand on Elliott's shoulder and praised him for an amazing and perfect speech. She would have said something herself, but the others said it perfectly so she didn't see the point in repeating what the others said. She just smiled at him and gave him the nod of approval to convey that she agreed with everything the other three said. Seeing Cal and Cliff walk over and give him a hug, she knew it was very much warranted, she couldn't resist taking a quick snap on her phone which she would later send to Elliott as a keepsake. It was such a perfect family moment that she felt it needed to be immortalised in a photo that he could keep always. She didn't even notice that Moya and Rinaa then soon snuck off as well at that point until after they were actually gone.

Fia helped where she could when they were all at the stage, she did a quick double check to make sure her violin was still in tune which it was luckily was, and stood in the middle of the drum kit and Charlie's cello. She used the very short time wisely and went through the piece mentally, feeling happy that she wouldn't mess it up. "Thanks Matteo, we totally got this" she smiled confidentally.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Yep, we totally do." Charlie and Moya replied in unison, the latter standing back and looking utterly chill, twirling a drumstick in each hand in order to prevent herself from making unnecessary adjustments to the drum kit. Charlie was doing a similar thing, running the back of the bow across the palm of her hands. "Well good luck anyway, don't a break a leg or the doc'll be pissed." Rinaa added, before she and Matteo made their way away from the stage, Matteo wondering if she'd have enough time to hook up a second mic so he could talk at an equal volume to his brother. Judging by the curling grin on Rinaa's face that was well within her skill set.

Elliott finally escaped the hug after teasingly complaining that they were squeezing all the air out of his lungs by sandwiching him between two metal suits of armour. Cal and Cliff just laughed off the 'insult' before leading the way to the dance floor. John and Jay had both managed to record Elliott's speech (John's being audio only, where as Jay had both video and audio only) and were saving multiple copies, before sending them to everybody else in their group. John even sent them to Trish and Renee (knowing that they wouldn't actually arrive until they were very close to Earth), giving context for the whole thing.

The wedding group made their way to the dance floor, following Cal and Cliff there. Matteo and Charlie had made sure that Moya's kit was positioned in the shadows of the stage structure, with Charlie and Fia lurking back where they couldn't be seen, knowing that everybody would be too busy paying attention to the brides to give a seemingly empty stage much thought. Rinaa had slipped into the area with the lights and sound controls, flicking on various things around the dance floor, but leaving the stage unlit for the present moment. Benji went to speak, the microphone having seemingly formed a symbiotic relationship as he hadn't been seen without it all evening. "And now the proof you've all been waiting for, warriors in exquisite, handcrafted metal armour make the best dancers." As Cal and Cliff walked forwards, Matteo pushed past his brother, pulling out a mic of his own, whike at the same time the spotlight changed to focus on him, prompting a loud cheer from the direction of his friends who had no idea what was going on, but were supporting him anyway."I think that's quite enough of your voice for today brother, and don't bother with your mic, Artemis switched it off" the light swung to highlight Rinaa at the sound and light controls, who waved, before diverted the beam back to Matteo.

John raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen, judging by the expression on Benji's face." "I'm with you on that. Somethin' else is going on." Chas answered, nodding in thought, he already knew that the control deck was going to be manned by a mix of Rinaa, Benji and one of the women from the hospital Cliff worked at. "I think the real question here is 'where are all our teenagers' and don't say bathroom, that was clearly a lie." Jay declared, having picked up exactly who was missing, but what she didn't know was why, yet.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smirked to stifle the chuckle when Charlie and Moya agreed with her and spoke in unison. For some reason people doing that always amused Fia, even when she accidentally ended up speaking in unison with her mother, father or brother in her timeline. Unlike Charlie and Moya, she wasn't doing much with her bow at all, just lightly keeping it in her grip in one hand, letting it hang down by her side, like her violin was in her other hand. "We won't" she said back at the breaking a leg comment. She knew that wearing the heels she was, she wouldn't be dancing to the piece, like in the rehearsals she'd just sway to it on the spot. She remained out of sight as she saw guests and the bride's all head over to the dance floor, it now really sinking in just how many people were there. 'glad I don't get performance fright' she thought to herself.

Kay sent the hug photo to Elliott, Cal and Cliff only for the time being. She was going to wait but figured she may as well do it when she was thinking about it, deciding that if any of the three wanted others to see if or have a copy, they could send it on themselves. She got the copies of the speech come through her phone and she let them save automatically, before putting her phone away, and thinking that Fia was taking a stupidly long time in the bathroom. She half chuckled when Elliott managed to get out the grip with the fake complaining, before they all headed to the dance floor and still saw no sight of Fia or anyone else from their group. She was going to say something when Benji started talking, before Matteo hijacked the spotlight.

It was all highly amusing to Kay, her focus back on the scene in front of her, even if this wasn't totally planned judging by Benji's facial expression. She then looked at Jay who asked the important question, where were the other teenagers. "Artemis is up there at the light and sound deck, but I can't see Fia or Moya anywhere" she replied, looking around trying to spot Fia in the crowd to no avail.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay hit the nail on the head with her question. Kay's answer told her what she already knew, that Rinaa was in the light and sound booth, but none of the others were visible. Since Moya and Rinaa had been almost glued at the hip in the entire time they'd spent on the island, it could only be deliberate. "Which means they're up to something, missing this dance would just be asking to be in Cal and Cliff's black books for life." "Whatever 'it' is" John's air quote gestures were probably visible from a mile away given how strong they were"its clearly not been planned by any of Cliff's family, they're just as confused as we are, and definitely going through the exact same thought process as us." Chas glanced over at the rest of Cliff's family to see that yes, John was indeed right. " Charlie's not there either."

Charlie was the most visibly nervous of the musical trio. Moya was a seasoned player, used to performing in front of crowds of complete strangers far bigger than the wedding guests, while Fia was used to performing for family and had showed no confidence issues earlier when playing on the roof. Charlie hadn't played in years and all the doubts she'd felt earlier were coming back, her left foot tapping unconsciously against the wooden planks of the stage, her fingers tightening in a death grip along the bow. It was clearly written all over her face that she was regretting this decision. Moya couldn't help but pick up on this and leaned forwards and whispered. "Hey Charlie, you're overthinking this whole thing. You've damn well got the skills, you've been playing this piece longer than any of us. Plus you're a cop, no doubt a badass one, and there's got to be worse and more terrifying things than this that you've done in your life." Charlie nodded at that, the other girl's words helping immensely. "You're right, I have done far worse than this." In her mind she started giving herself a sort of pep talk, half listening to Matteo's patter at the same time.

After Benji verified that, yes, his mic was indeed switched off he shrugged and sighed "It's in your hands Mattie, don't fuck it up." "Go away ye of little faith." Matteo made a shooing gesture before returning to the actual point of him talking. "So far this whole wedding had been stunning, all the months of planning have finally paid off with the secret synobilism the colours, the choreography, getting everybody here, food prep, the list goes on. But the one thing that's missing that extra personal touch is the first dance of the evening. So us five decided to do something about that, something so personal and so beautiful that it comes closer than anything else to expressing the newly weds here in front of us. We formed a music group! Many of you know my other sister Charlie for being a cop, and a damn good one at that. What fewer of you know is that she used to play cello, and has been persuaded to dust it off for this occasion." It was at that point that Rinaa flicked on the stage light above Charlie, revealing her and her cello to the entire audience. With the help of the pep talk and motivations she had lost the nervous look and was ready to play her heart out.

Cliff's eyes went wide at the sight, turning to her wife and murmuring "wow, I didn't see that one coming." She wasn't the only one, various audience members began murmuring to each other, having not seen this coming. Matteo smirked, before turning around. "But it gets better. We also have a drummer, in the form of uni fashion student Moya" another light came on right on cue, revealing her and the drum kit. "And it turn sour Charlie isn't the only string player here, we're got another, a violinist in the form of Fia, who is part of the extended family that came with Elliott." The final light came on, not bright enough to be completly blinding to the players, but it did obscure the furthest few rows of assembled people. "So without further ado, we give you the duet 'We Found Love'."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay kept looking around trying to find her daughter to no avail. With everything being spoken, she agreed with the others that they were definitely up to something, whatever it could possibly be. She just hoped they weren't up to no good and had sense to be planning nice. When Jay pointed out that even Charlie was missing, this started to make Kay raise an eyebrow and really wonder what the hell was going on. She turned toward Matteo when he started talking again, and listened to what was being said, completely and utterly confused. It was only when Matteo was introducing Charlie as a cello player that her mind started to try and piece the pieces together.

Fia let Moya talk Charlie through it, she nodded at Moya's words to show Charlie she agreed with everything wholeheartedly. They worked perfectly together in the attic and had full faith in all of them that they would completely slay this surprise and make everyone proud. If they got Cal and off to get emotional that would be the ultimate thing in her mind. As Charlie got put under the spot light she smiled, seeing the cop wave shyly. Then came Moya's turn and finally her turn in the light. She looked out with a smile and a wave with her bow hand, spotting Kay's vibrant hair out of the crowd instantly, using it as a beacon to find where her group and family indeed were.

With the introductions done, she placed her violin under her chin, adjusted it to be comfortable and lifted her bow up and over. Glancing at both Moya and Charlie, giving them the nod that she was good to go, she began playing with them, closing her eyes every now and then as she felt the music flow through her, letting the music tell her what chord to play next, following Charlie and Moya effortlessly. To her it was the best the group played the piece and it came. ogether so perfectly. She rocked side to side from her hips to the music as she played, wanting to make Cal and Cliff proud and happy.

Kay watched as it all unfolded, looking surprised and shocked, but most of all unbelievably proud of Fia. She felt like her daughter was just meant to be on stage. She had never seen Fia play quite like this before and it astounded her, her hand covering her mouth slightly in emotion. Her free hand holding onto John's arm as she leaned into him. "Bloody hell...I...I actually can't believe that's our girl up there" She whispered to him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The sight of Charlie on the stage didn't explain anything to their group. Her wave with the bow was far more confident than she felt. She'd chosen to play standing up for the performance, and put her focus into keeping the cello in the one place and not letting it fall over. John only put the pieces together when the light over Moya came on. Their positioning was wrong for a two person group, which meant there had to be a third member, and it clearly wasn't Matteo as he was talking or Rinaa who was working the sound and lights an expression of concentration on her face. "So that's what they were doing in the house." He murmered quietly to Kay, the dawning comprehension audible in his voice as the last light came on.

For Cal and Cliff there was no time to stop and listen, no matter how much thy wanted to do just that. Cliff knew the piece, remembered it from all those years ago when Charlie would play it. "I'll lead for this, just follow me." "Always" Cal whispered back, as the two took their positions, bright green eyes staring into bright gold ones. Charlie had the first note of the piece, so as soon as Fia signalled that she was ready she began playing. The first note was clear and true, the others falling seamlessly into place afterwards as she lost herself in the piece, playing the whole thing from memory. Charlie didn't close her eyes as she played, but her motions were fluid and true, playing with all her heart. Moya kept the drumming relatively quiet. It was the pulse of the song, what the other players and the dancers locked on in order to keep their place and pace. True to her word Cliff knew exactly what to do, the couple spinning, twirling and dipping around the dance floor in a blur of silver, red, blue, blond and raven hair. The two women moved with almost an ethereal grace and elegance across the floor that made them seem like something out of a myth or ancient legend. It had been decided earlier that the piece would be looped bringing it to a total length of seven or so minutes. Neither the musicians or the dancers faltered throughout and Rinaa expertly faded the lights in and out of various shades, following the brides around, as they danced, while also keeping the band visible at all times.

The whole thing was stunning for the audience, many openly gaping. This was a first for everybody, seeing Cal and Cliff dancing like they had been doing it all their lives and hearing all the musicians come together to create something truly special. There was tears, from Cliff's parents, from Dan and even a few from Elliott, shining a pure silver as the stage lights passed through them. This was aperfirmce of love and passion for all involved. John could only agree é with Kay, this was different from anything else they'd ever seen Fia play or perform. While her pats performances were personal, this took personal to a whole other dimension. "I can, this was something she was meant to do." He whispered back, placing his hand over the hadn she had on his arm.

When the music stopped there was dead silence as everybody stood in shock trying to comprehend what they'd just seen, before everybody broke into thunderous applause, even Rinaa who abandoned the lighting gear to join in with others.

 

[MzHyde]

When John suddenly realised what it truly was that the group were doing up in the attic, it had dawned on Kay as well, except she just didn't say anything, she just nodded. She watched as Cal and Cliff danced together, looking like something from a legend or date she say it, fairytale. It their dancing with the other's playing ability truly was something she would ever forget for a long time. Rinaa's ability to keep both the band and the brides under spotlights was impressive also.

She could see so many being touched emotionally by everything they were seeing and hearing, and she felt so much pride in it all, especially Fia. Hearing John say what he did made her nod in agreement. She definitely had his tent for holding a crowd and working the stage, even if it wasn't punk music she played. She felt his hand on hers and she couldn't imagine a more perfect moment right now. "I knew she could play but this....is something else entirely" she said again.

When it all finished Kay actually quickly wipe a tear that escaped her, not wanting to be that typical emotional pregnant lady, but she couldn't help it. They're playing and the dancing just brought the emotion out of her. When everyone started applauded, so did she. Fia looked out at the crowd as she lowered her violin and bow before looking at Charlie and Moya and smiled broadly, she simply gave them the nod that conveyed pride in all of them whilst it said 'hells yes we did it!'. She then looked back out and saw how emotional Kay had gotten and she felt very proud of herself for managing that. She then looked at the brides and gave them a nod that said 'congrats, and surprise! You're welcome!'.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When it finished John really had no idea what to do or say. There wasn't words for what they had just seen. He ran his free hand through his hair, making it stand on end, casting glances at Elliott, Chas and Jay who were in similar states, Jay's usual mask of emotional control had slipped and she'd been tapping her foot to the pulse of the music and swaying in sync with it throughout the whole performance. "I don't think there's words for what we've just seen really. Prefect somehow just doesn't do it justice. Everyhin' just worked seamlessly." "I agree, there isn't words for it. Your kid has phenomenal talent this was beyond what we'd seen from her before. But the whole thing was just...... wow..... yeah." Chas tailed off shrugging, unable to come up with words to describe it either. "We all knew Fia was talented, but this is beyond talent. There'd better be video somewhere, there's no way any of us are forgetting this. Ever." "Yeah, screw the timeline this is worth preservin'. We'll have to congratulate them, once the group huggin' has finished of course."

There were tears in both Cal and Cliff's eyes when they stopped dancing. Neither could imagine a more perfect dance, and to know that all the teenagers had played such an integral role in the whole thing meant so incredibly much to them. Charlie wiped a hand across her brow, grinning madly and hoisting the cello up with one hand, before hopping off the stage with it in order to wrap her favourite sister and sister in law a hug. "You didn't see that one coming did you!" "Not in the slightest. God's, have you been practicing sneakily all these years or something? That was amazing! Truly something else." There was a catch in Cliff's voice as she wrapped her arms around her sister and the cello. "I wish, that's the product of many pep talks and about three hours in the attic this morning." "Well it was perfect, the whole thing." Cal replied before gesturing for the other two girls and Matteo to come down from the stage and be pulled into the group hug.

Once they'd all pulled back from the hug and been thoroughly praised by Cal and Cliff, the latter turned to Matteo. "So you weren't showing the embrassing photos then?" "Oh we did that too, being the phenomenal multitaskers we are. Plus there's only so long you can hold an instrument for before you feel like your arms are going to fall off. We sound proofed the attic, or more precisely Fia did it magically." "Of course you manged to show them the photos too." Cliff chuckled in amusement. "So whose idea was it? They deserve a bloody award, that really couldn't have gone any better or been any more perfectly suited for us." Cal asked the assembled teenagers, meaning every word. "All credit goes to Artemis on this. She had the idea last night and roped us all in, planned the whole thing." Moya answered, gesturing at Rinaa who had reddened at the praise. "You planned this whole thing?" Cal asked, surprised, but not skeptical. "Yes, I did. You guys needed something special for the first dance and the piece is perfect, not to mention that these guys are probably the most talented musicians I know. It just seemed right." She shrugged, grinning from ear to ear,befir being dragged into another hug by the two brides.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay couldn't even speak another word about what she just witnessed. Hearing and seeing that everyone else was just as gobsmacked brought a kind of relief to her that she wasn't the only one who was incredibly moved by her kid. Particularly hearing Chas just saying 'your kid' to both her and John, despite what they were trying to make others believe meant the so much to Kay. She also felt glad that both Elliott and John wanted video evidence to keep of that performance, something that Kay didn't even think to get because she was so wrapped up in what she was seeing with her own eyes and not through a phone screen. "I really hope someone did get it. I didn't even think to film it. I was too enthralled" Kay replied, finally finding her voice again. She knew just from this moment that Fia was going to be impressing and surprising them a lot when they get to experience bringing her up for themselves. "Congratulating them just seems so insignificant but the least we can do" she added.

Fia let Charlie off the stage first for obvious reasons of bringing the cello down with her. She also let her go first because she was Cliff's sister. When Cal gestured for her and Moya to come down off the stage, she carefully got down, having kept her heels on so she didn't want to risk breaking her ankle by jumping off, she went over to the bride's smiling brightly. She hugged the two brides tightly back, feeling so happy for everyone involved in the surprise. With the hug pulled away and broken, she let Cliff talk to Matteo, smirking when she questioned about the sharing old family photos.

Fia just shrugged off the comment about her managing to sound proof the attic like it was no big deal to have done as the chat continued. She continued smiling broadly glad that Rinaa was getting the well deserved praise. "The girl has the best ideas at the best times" Fia commented, meaning every word she spoke. She glanced over seeing the faces on her family properly this time, the smile never leaving her face. Kay watched on as the brides hugged Fia and the others to thank them for what they did, making Kay mouth 'proud of you kiddo' to Fia. Fia nodded understanding what she was silently saying instantly. "if it's okay, I'm gonna go to my family" Fia said to Cal and Cliff, knowing it was a broad enough statement to say without it bringing up any questions to Charlie, Moya or Matteo.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the raise Rinaa just smirked, something glinting in her eyes "if you like this idea, you should see my battle plans" she replied, knowing that Fia wouldn't know the context to her remark, that she was talking about heists, jailbreaks and vigilante operations. As a strategist Rinaa was terrifying good, and like a master chess player was often ten steps ahead of everybody else. It was why people took so long to catch on to what she was actually doing. She took Fia's praise, not shrugging it off like she had other times. It seemed like this dance and performance could be the thing that finally broke through the tensions between them. At Fia's statement the two brides nodded, having no problems with it. "Of course, if you wnat to find us later, just look for the glinting armour or wherever the biggest crowd is. And we'll done again, that was quite something." As Fia made her way over Rinaa chose to stay with Cal and Cliff a while longer as they were heading to the bar and she needed a drink.

When Kay mouthed her praise, both John and Elliott gave thumbs up and grins that conveyed the exact same thing. As Fia came over, they gave a smaller round of applause, even Jay, who gave genuine praise as often as John did (very, very rarely and when it was, it was always meant sincerely). "I think everybody is still in shock at that performance, we all are." John told her, gesturing at their group. "Yeah, that was completly different to every other time you played. Maybe it was the atmosphere the duet and accompaniment or the dancing, but that was spectacular." "Their words aren't doing your playing justice, so I won't try and verbalise it. So well done scrub." Jay told her, using a nickname Fia would never have heard before as it didn't exist in her timeline.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded at Cal and Cliff, "will do" she replied and gave them each one quick hug each before heading over to her family, feeling the happiest she has done for a very long time. Rinaa didn't shrug off her praise or make her feel unwelcome, she made Cal and Cliff happy by being a part of something to make their first dance truly something to remember and she just witnessed her mother actually say she was proud of her. Reaching her group, she blushed slightly at all the praise and applause coming her way from each and every one of them. The nickname of 'scrub' made her chuckle and raise an eyebrow. "That's new" she remarked about the nickname, "but thanks..it was Rinaa's idea to do it. So she deserves the most praise. But it felt good to do, and the praise does mean a lot to me." she replied to them all sincerely.

"Seriously kiddo, we were saying that we knew you could seriously play but that had us all speechless, I think you even made Ell cry" Kay chuckled, which made Fia chuckle and look right at Elliott to see if there were any hints of such a thing actually having happened. "Oh really?? If that happened then I'm considering that an accomplishment!" Fia smirked. Kay didn't feel sorry at all that she snitched on Elliott over it. She knew they were all proud of Fia, of all of them for having achieved that performance, but naturally she was a bit more biased towards her pride of Fia.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At Fia's raised eyebrow Jay raise one of her own in the process, on Earth she'd been dying them black, but thanks to the hair dye stripping water they were now their natural colour, the same rich blue as her head hair, and the hair on her arms. "Not exactly, inside joke" she shrugged by means of explanation while the others looked baffled, none of them having the context for the name either. At the mention of the fact that the whole thing was Rinaa's idea it was Elliott who looked more surprised than Jay. "She got all that to work in the space of what....... half a day?" Elliott asked, trying to wrap his head around that. "She's a strategist that one, she masterminded a prison root and escape from inside probably the MOST notorious prison this side of the quadrant, and if you look at her rap sheet there's various counts of premeditated heists, strategic attacks and formation flying as a diversion tactic. She's a planner through and through."

The three men all raised eyebrows at the volume of information coming out of Jay. "How d'you know any of that, I thought she was a walking enigma." Jay smirked at the question, before answering. "She is, but that doesn't mean there aren't other ways of getting information. Once we got to Attil I hacked into the prison records. Obviously not everything on the rap sheet was actually her, the courts trying to pin some unsolved crimes on her in their typical style. But a decent chunk of them bare her hallmarks, spanning across a period of about five years or so." Jay's theory was that Rinaa had created such a reputation for herself in order to guarantee that she'd be sent to the same prison as Jay.

There were no visible signs that Elliott had been crying. It would need to be a pretty serious outburst for his golden eyes to become noticeably bloodshot and the warped skin of his scar covered up the signs of tear tracks on one side. But he didn't bother denying it, just shrugging and telling Fia "Well I'd like to see a younger brother who wouldn't cry at seeing their sister, whose been lost to them for almost twelve years getting married to somebody who loves them that much and witnessing that stunning spectacle of dancing and music that was so far beyond average its burst into another dimension. I didn't even know Cal could dance, but it seems it goes with the territory."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded slowly at Jay saying it isn't exactly new but an inside joke. "Uh...huh" was all she could say in reply to it, still not getting why Jay would call her scrub of all things. Seeing that the others were just as confused made her feel a little better about not understanding it and that it wasn't just her not getting it. She was about to reply to Elliott when Jay got in there first and started explaining about the kind of girl Rinaa was, rattling off one hell of a rap sheet. She was also curious to how she knew all of that, knowing how closed up this Rinaa was even compared to her Leah. Though it didn't surprise her in the slightest that Jay had other means of getting the information she wanted about Rinaa.

As the topic went back to her teasing her brother about crying, she smiled listening to his excuse, which was a damn good one she had to give him that. "Touché big bro, touché" she smirked and chuckled, using her elbow to nudge him in the arm slightly, figuring they were far enough away from anyone who could rely listen to them to be able to say what she wanted how she wanted properly. "Either way kiddo, I think I can safely say we're all bloody proud of you" Kay commented, and truly meaning if as well. Sure, she mouthed it earlier, but in her eyes it's not the same as hearing it out loud, and Fia deserved to hear it properly. She just had no idea just how much it truly meant to Fia to hear her mother say those words. Mostly because when she was a lot younger she really gave her mother a hard time and that was the start of their relationship being rather unsteady. She was pretty sure she heard it from John more and he rarely says it so it was saying a lot. Fia found herself then stepping closer to Kay and hugging her tightly, "thanks mum" she whispered in her ear before pulling away, trying to keep her composure.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John knew there was no way Fia could get past Elliott's genuine reason for getting so emotional. There was no way to accurately express what he had been feeling at that moment unless the other person had gone through the same thing. And Elliott could also see that he wasn't the only one getting emotional at the whole thing, he may nor have the entire context of Fia's relationship with Kay in their timeline, but judging by the expression on her face and how tightly she was hugging Kay, the praise had meant worlds to her. "Yep, I'm with Kay on that, and you'll probably have to avoid everybody else for the rest of the evening as they'll want to praise you in person." He gestured in the direction of Charlie who was at a table with some of her closest police colleagues, getting slapped on the back and then at Matteo who was being swamped by his friends.

"I think I'm gonna go find Cal and catch up y'know." Elliott told the group, not requesting to leave as he knew they couldn't deny him these moments with his biological sister. "I'll come with" Jay told him with a smile. "They were heading in the direction of the bar as were the other teenagers who I also want to give some praise to. Plus I saw an exceptional looking bottle of rum there earlier that I haven't been able to source in years. I want to see if they'll let me a nick a few bottles." "Rum time already?" John raised an eyebrow, not in surprise, but in interest. "High alcohol tolerance and metabolism. This stuff is brewed for long haul crews and will definitely do genocide in your braincells if you have too much in one go." "Sounds right up my alley."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia looked at John when he agreed with Kay about being proud of her smiling, knowing it was rare to be praised by John. Then she realised it seemed to be rare to be praised by any of her family really, minus Chas. She couldn't help herself and just hugged John too before pulling away and looking over to see that yes, Matteo and Charlie were both getting praised greatly by both their respective groups. When Elliott spoke up about seeing his biological sister, she just nodded thinking that's exactly where he should be on this day and not hanging out with them solely.

As Jay said about going with him, it wasn't surprising to her or Kay that she would want to go to the bar with Elliott and see the others, especially as the other two teenagers were there as well. The moment the mention of rum came up, both Fia and Kay looked at each other with that look just said 'oh man... it's starting'. "Of course it does" Kay smirked at John after he said it was just his thing, though she knew she would happily try it if she wasn't carrying a baby. She didn't think she missed alcohol until this moment, knowing everyone could drink except for her. "You know if your weren't pregnant you'd be all over that bar" Fia commented with a smug smile. "Yeah I would be, and I'm now really realising how much I bloody miss being able to drink" Kay retorted back.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John was caught of guard by Fia hugging him seemingly out of nowhere, Elliott always telegraphed when he was about to hug, as did John, stemming back from the times when Elliott would be in the thick of night terrors and would lash out at anyone and anything that touched him. John hadn't picked up on any such tic in Fia, but that was more due to the fact that he didn't have a proper read on her yet. At the mention of his interest in pillaging the bar John just shrugged in response, he favoured a heavier spirit in general and had various rums squirelled away along with various whiskeys and scotches (which had been used on a number of occasions to sterilise wounds). And this was alien alcohol so John was curious to find out how different it was to stuff on Earth and Jay would be far more of an expert on the matter than Elliott (who couldn't even drink the last time he was off Earth). "If its anything like giving up smoking then I know the feeling." Jay told Kay. While not the most sympathetic words coming out of anybody else's mouth, Jay wasn't exactly a sympathetic person so it was more the fact that she said anything at all that meant something.

The whole group ended up drifting over to the bar and food tables. Like the night before the food had been laid out buffet style, but this time there was far more on offer, starters and nibbles, mains and deserts (which took up the largest area of all). Unlike on Earth wedding cakes weren't traditional, so the table was instead covered with a wide variety of baked goods. Seeing Jay arrive, Rinaa smiled, a genuine one that reached her eyes (which were a now a mix if green and grey as she became more comfortable in her own skin) and pulled a bottle from near her. "I trust that you saw this earlier?" She asked, waving the bottle. "Yup, any idea if they'll let me nick a couple of bottles for my own stash?" Jay asked, picking up two glasses along the way. "You literally have a full alcohol vault y'know. But I guess there's always room for rum?" The way she said the words and the way the two locked eyes suggested that this wasn't just a throwaway phrase. "Always" Jay agreed, as Rinaa opened the bottle and poured a glass each as if it was the most natural thing in the world, which for her it was. There had been many evenings in her timeline where it had been the two of them, two glasses of rum and chatting about everything and anything. As they clinked the glasses together they toasted with the words-"the dead, the damned and the soulless" - the only toast they ever drank to in Rinaa's timeline.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia like everyone else who knew John, knew his favoured beverages when it came to anything alcoholic, so it really wasn't a shock that he'd want to try alien rum. As for the hugging thing, usually Fia would just have look in her eye to say 'i need a hug' before she hugged anyone, but for this instance, her look just got swept up and covered by the appreciation for the praise and being told that they were proud of her. She sensed he was caught off guard by it, and mentally had to remind herself that he wasn't his future self so wouldn't have known her clues. Kay nodded when Jay commented on about her missing alcohol and comparing it when Jay gave up smoking. "Yeah...it sucks. I mean..I'm not even dealing with not having coffee, so no alcohol too just feels way too cruel" Kay replied with a small faint smile.

Both girls walked over to the bar with everyone, but they also gave Elliott his space for being with Cal. The amount of food amazed both of them, and Fia instantly went to the dessert table instead of even tackling the main food. "Um..excuse me madam, no" Kay told her, making Fia sigh, roll her eyes and walk back to the main food tables where she looked, grabbed a plate and put some proper food on it. Kay did the same, grabbing a plate to put some food on it as she felt peckish but massively hungry. "John and I spoke last night as well, and we both decided that we're cool with you drinking if you want to, just don't be stupid with it" Kay told her quietly. Fia smiled and nodded, "I won't be stupid...I promise" Fia replied. Kay and Fia then went to the actual bar so they could get a drink each, Kay naturally just went for a soft drink consisting of a type of lemonade whereas Fia was looking to see which alcoholic drink to try.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay was inclined to agree that no alcohol and no coffee was a cruel and unusual punishment, and it reminded her of her time spent in prison where alcohol and coffee were either smuggled in illegally or nicked from the guards rooms. She wasn't surprised in the slightest that Rinaa knew the toast, it was a traditional Isogrii one, based on a legend like many things in Isogrii culture. Rinaa had already helped herself to an enormous pile of food which was on the bar surface behind her. John bypassed the food and went straight for the alcohol, wanting to get at least one drink into himself before he did anything else. Jay pushed over a third glass with a slug of the rum in it, without him even needing to ask which he took gratefully. It had been far too long (in his mind) since he'd last had a proper drink, and the Amber-brown liquid in front of him was looking like an excellent candidate. "Ta for this."

Elliott just so happened to be walking past Kay and Fia, getting his own food whne he heard the alcohol comment and couldn't resist adding in another bit. "In other words, if you get totally smashed and spend the night puking and the next week hungover, it's on you and you're going through it alone. Burn and learn and all that." With his own plate loaded up he made his way over to where Cal and Cliff were, the former throwing an arm around his shoulder and thanking him for the speech and apologising for not asking him to do it, which Elliott brushed off saying that it wouldn't have been as good if he'd writen it, the spontaneity gave a whole other level of love. Moya was unofficially manning the bar, it had originally been intended to be a self service affair, but she decided to put her bar skills to use and was mixing up something a vibrant pink in colour. There was a wide and varied selection of alcohol, the names, types and brands writen in various scripts and languages with the hopes that there would be something for everyone.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia looked over her shoulder when Elliott chipped in on the alcohol talk and she had to chuckle at that, "so how's that different to every other lesson?" She asked like a stereotypical smart ass teenager as he walked over to his sister and sister in law. At the bar she watched as Moya mixed up a drink that was bright pink and wondered what it was. "What drink is that? And what's in it?" She asked Moya curiously. She hadn't decided if she wanted it yet, she was more curious what it consisted of and what it actually was. If it wasn't for the colour she probably wouldn't have even asked about it. "And can you recommend anything? I've been told I'm allowed to drink and I want to make the most of it" she smirked.

Kay started nibbling at the bits on her plate at the bar in between sipping her lemonade. She found it interesting and strange that she could stand there smelling alcohol with no side effects but coffee made her vomit dramatically. She looked around at everyone enjoying themselves and just enjoyed the positive atmosphere and vibe that was emminating from the area. That was the one thing she did like about weddings, on the whole it was a good atmosphere until the cliché argument or fight broke out. She could overhear what Fia was saying and had to smirk to herself slightly.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Moya looked up at Fia's questions with a smile, before setting the drinks shaker aside and scooping up some ice and plopping it into a glass. "I don't know if there's an equivalent for it on your planet, but back on Attil we call this particular cocktail 'Moonrose' after both it's frankly alarming colour and a particular kind of plant that grows on the moons in the Paxos system. Which is located somewhere..." she scanned the unfamiliar skyline before finding the right star "a couple of million miles that way, give or take, this is alien territory for me too" she gestured at a far off point in the sky. "As for ingredients there's some bitters, dissolved sugar, fruit juice, a base spirit of rum and extract from the earlier mentioned flower. Standard cocktail stuff really." She finished with a shrug before straining the mixture into the glass and garnishing it with a plant leaf and sliding it down the bar top to the person who'd ordered it.

At Fia's request she narrowed her eyes slightly looking at the other girl contemplatively, trying to see if she could figure out the girl's tastes just by looking at her. "Hmm, first time is always hard, but three general rules, fuck wine, totally not worth it for a first time,don't bother with beer either, this is fancier do than a teenage rave and don't start straight away on the hard stuff, like the others, who will be doing flaming shots within the next hour, maximum." As she said that she indicated with a jerk f her head towards John, Jay and Rinaa who were leaning against the bar with their glasses of rum."Cocktails would be the easiest way to start you in, figure out what tastes you like, what ones you don't, without getting utterly hammered. So what kinda person would you be for drinks in general?"

The atmosphere of the whole do was relaxed, everybody happy and still buzzing from the earlier performance, discussing various aspects of the ceremony. Benji was manning the sound and switching between various tracks and lighting, some guests were dancing but most had decided to opt for food and drinks first.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to the explanation of what the vibrant pink drink was and where the flower comes from that it's inspired by. She found it fascinating truth be told, and listened with great interest as she continued watching her make the drink before sliding it down the bar to the person who wanted it. "Definitely nothing that I know of like it back on Earth" Fia commented. She then let the girl scrutinize her for a bit, guessing what she was doing and not minding in the slightest. She then listened to the three 'rules' and chuckled at them, not knowing why she found them amusing but did anyway before shrugging in that 'fair enough' manner. She even looked in the general direction of John, Jay and Rinaa when Moya featured toward them, finding her assumption was pretty spot on about John.

"Well, for drinks in general I like fruity drinks when I'm not drinking all kinds of fizzy drinks or energy drinks. I'm pretty laid back actually to be honest, there isn't much I don't like drinks wise. Only thing I'm not keen on is coconut flavoured stuff like coconut water and such. Bloody disgusting in my opinion." she explained. She had no idea if she was being helpful in the slightest, but it was the truth. She was the kind of person as well who would try anything at least once, even if it turned out that she didn't like it, she could at least say she tried it.

Kay watched on as she had her nibbles and soft drink, listening to what Fia was talking about with Moya as well as listening in general to any other conversation around her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Doesn't mean there isn't something like that there though" Moya shrugged."The equivalent would obviously have different ingredients and could just be really obscure or something." She tipped her head to one side as Fia gave an explanation of what she usually liked in a drink, picking up on the fruity part in particular. At Fia's dismissal of coconut she grinned mischievously."So no tacky drinks in coconuts with tiny umbrellas for you then? Pity, that would add such a touch of class to this whole do. And yes" she rolled her golden eyes"tacky drinks are universal and a staple of every good bartender's arsenal."

Moya came to a decision on which cocktail to try on Fia first pretty quickly, reaching behind her for another glass and dropping in a bunch of ice cubes and setting it to one side before grabbing a shaker and a set of liquor measures. She then grabbed a selection of bottles, some clearly juice, others base mixers and finally the alcohol itself. Measuring the spirits was easy for her, all she had to was tilt the bottle and the correct amount of alcohol came out. The alcohol/juice mix was added to a shaker with ice shards in it and shaken vigourously before being strained out and into the pre-prepared glass. "Right try this one out for size, it's fruity, with the alcohol coming in as a kick afterwards."

 

[MzHyde]

"good point...and we do seem name cocktails some weird things...we have one named after the legend of Bloody Mary which I've always thought was stupid" Fia explained to Moya, unsure if she knew if that legend that always had elements of truth in it. She chuckled at the tacky coconut drink comment from Moya and shook her head, "oh hells no. And that really doesn't surprise me somehow that it's a universal thing" She laughed. She let Moya then come up with an idea for a drink for her as she watched her make it up, seeing just how much experience she really had with it. With the drink made up she took it and sipped it for her first taste, letting all the flavours hit her before she got that hit of the alcohol afterwards, just as Moya said she would.

"That's really good!" She told her smiling taking another sip. She could taste all the fruity flavours in it as it went down her throat then that hit of alcohol hit her giving it a whole new taste, but it wasn't bad for her. As a first drink she really enjoyed it, the alcohol did burn her throat slightly but it didn't make her want to cough or look utterly shocked by the taste, taking it all in her stride really well. Kay glanced over and smiled seeing Fia experience get another normal teenage thing, glad that it was going well for her and not backfiring in the most embarrassing manner possible.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Moya did a small fist pump, more to herself than anybody else. "First time! Yes!" she said gleefully, before moving onto the next order. An unofficial bar system had formed whereby those who had formal training in bars would go behind the bar and work, while patrons would order by writing their drinks on sticky notes and sticking them on the bar as a placeholder. The next drink she had to prepare was a blend of various whiskeys which was far simpler ingredients wise but required experience to get the flavour profile right. So Moya outsourced calling over to Rinaa."Hey Artemis, mind doing me a quick favour?" she asked to which the other girl nodded "dont mind at all" and vaulted over the bar. "Can you use your enhanced sense of smell to see if the flavours balance in this smell wise?"

Rinaa nodded, carefully taken up the glass and deeply inhaling the vapours, a look of contemplation and concentration passing over her face. The enhanced senses were a more recent side effect of her transformation, and she was still getting used to them. Thankfully they hadn't come in full force, so Rinaa was able to adapt to them. she inhaled again, then nodded. "That's perfect, and now I kinda want one of those for meself. What in it?" This, this, this and...... a bit of that" Moya slid over the bottles easily to Rinaa who began mixing up her own version by smell alone, Moya watching with fond interest out of the corner of her eye.

Chas had gravitated over to the group with the brides and the triplets and was conversing easily with them. John and Jay were bonding over their very similar tastes in alcohol. It wasn't long before Matteo's group made their way to the bar. "before you ask, we're all legal." he told Moya who merely smirked and responded with "and even if you weren't you're the sister of the bride, so I cant do shit to stop you." "Damn right. Fia, Moya these are the people I hang out with in school."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia chuckled at Moya's reaction, letting her move on to the other people who had drinks orders waiting. She continued to enjoy her drink, making sure to savour every sip as it was her first one. She wanted to remember it perfectly and not just drink it all down quickly and not truly appreciate it. She watched on still, seeing how Rinaa was using her heightened sense of smell to help Moya out with a drink before deciding to look around at everyone else around, whilst nibbling her food at the same time and seeing Chas and company walking over to the others.

She smiled when Matteo came over with his group of school friends to join her at the bar. She smirked and chuckled at the initial greeting giving his group a small wave. "hey" she said politely with a smile. "Nice to meet you all" she said. Whereas Kay looked up when Chas walked over with the brides and triplets smiling. "hey you lot" she greeted, putting her empty glass on the bar now she had finished it and leaned slightly against the bar to get into a relatively comfortable position for her back's sake.