Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

It was only when Benji looked and eventually spoke up and Nat sighing that Fia realised she probably shouldn't have said as much as she did. Yet she also knew it wouldn't be long before Benji found out anyway so she didn't feel too guilty. She found herself laughing at Benji retracting his previous statement about not moving knowing that Matteo now deserved a warning so, so she quickly text him 'be warned, Benji knows...Fia.' and clicked send quickly. She felt it was the least she could do after accidentally giving Benji the answer to his unspoken question. She stood up and grabbed her towel after she threw it at John moments a go, shaking the sand off of it before partially folding it and slinging it over her shoulder.

Kay got up also albeit a bit slower than everyone else did and did the same with her towel by slinging it over her shoulder. She massaged the crook in her lower back where she usually got the ache from her bump, "guess we're all heading back then" she smiled, waiting for the others to get up before heading to the house with them all. She was definitely ready for some food at this point like Chas was, whilst overhearing the conversation between Nat and Benji, thinking Matteo was going to be in a long ride now Benji knew. She looped her arm as per usual through John's whilst keeping one hand on her back.

(no worries! If I'm ever slow replying it's coz the site isn't giving me the notifications until I open the site)

 

[_gallifrog_]

John and Chas watched as Benji went from casually lounging around with dogs, the very picture of a man who had no intentions of moving to a highly excited man who was visibly restraining from simply bolting back to the house to find out everything that was possible. They could see that cliff really wasn't exaggerating when she said that interfering in his sibling's love life was his greatest pleasure in life. John knew that if his sister gave him the look currently on Benji's face he'd be seriously considering running away and changing his name. Chas couldn't help feel sorry for Matteo who was going to be under the full power of Benji's scrutiny now that Cliff and Cal were happily married. The kid had been reluctant to say anything when he was heavily hungover, but Chas and John knew that even with full mental capacities on Matteo's part, in the end it would go Benji's way.

Matteo's response was instantaneous, replying to Nat and Fia with the same message. "It was only a matter of time really, I'll either get through it, or die of mortification while getting team tagged by Alex, Benji and Charlie. You're invited to my funeral if that does happen." Nat couldn't take out his phone to check, he was too busy being intensely quizzed by his older brother. He relished the surprise on Benji's face when the identity of Matteo's mystery man was revealed. It wasn't the gender that surprised him (as long as they were happy, Benji had no problems with which way his siblings swung, if at all) but rather who he was related to.

The phrase 'bastard royalty' didn't go amiss by John either, scrambling to his feet, slinging the towel, shirt and tie over his shoulder as he made to follow the brothers. Chas pulled on his shirt and followed the others, brushing the sand from his hair. The dogs followed along at Nat and Benji's heel, sensing that something exciting was going on. "Bastrad royalty?" John asked. The way Benji said it, it didn't sound like an insult. "Yeah, obviously not the official term, which is 'illegitimate royal heir'. In the case of Alex and his brother it was one of the royal princes had an affair, lasted a bloody long time this one, hence the age gap between the brothers. But neither Alex or his brother knew about it their parentage, they were put up for adoption..... it's complicated really. The whole thing came to light about seven or eight years ago, massive scandal as you can imagine."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia looked at her phone when Matteo replied back to her and Nat and read the reply, she had to smirk slightly at what he said but did feel sorry for him at the mention of the inevitable tag team gang up on him that would happen. She then just kept ahold of her phone as they all walked back as she didn't have her usual thigh bag or any kind of bag with her. Hearing the term 'bastard royalty' did stand out in comparison to everything else but she knew it'd be either Chas or John would ask about it so she didn't see the point in asking herself. Low and behold, her assumption was proven right when John asked about the termnology was questioned.

Her and Kay both listened to the answer finding it did sound like it was a massive complicated thing that would take a fair while to properly explain. Kay also found it interesting that they seemed to have a habit of coming into contact with people tied to some kind of royalty in one way or another. She didn't think in her entire lifetime she'd come into contact with one person of royalty, let alone the amount they have had come into contact with. "sounds complicated and long" she remarked. Fia nodded in agreement at Kay's comment as they all walked together.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Benji nodded at Kay's observation. "That's exactly what it is, the full story takes ages to explain. I had to get it explained to me twice to get in all in. The only bit you really need to know is that neither of the brothers actually count as royalty and have no real emotional ties to the royal family in question. They're just ordinary guys, though Alex received a lot of heat back in the day as he was the oldest sibling, with the press trying to force him into taking his called 'rightful place' on the throne when the king died. He refused, but it got serious enough that he had to get a trained bodyguard." He saw the looks on the others faces and shrugged in a slightly sheepish manner. "And yes, I do realise how crazy this sounds being said in such a casual way. My family are the exception to the rule, we're like magnets for finding the crazy, powerful and interesting people. Not all alien families know as much royalty, military figures and medical people as we do. We're just special."

They made their way towards the main house. Around the side of the house, the Attili crew were shoving tables together to form one single eating area. One of the two tents had been dismantled, the pieces piled up to one side. Jay and Elliott were helping with the table moving, but stopped and made their way over to John, Chas, Fia and Kay once they saw them. "I'll presume you've heard the gossip of the day?" "Yup, you should have seen the look of smug delught Fia had when the message was forwarded on." "If it was anything like Artemis' then I've already seen it."

Matteo and his group could be seen sitting on top of the pile of wooden floor slats and metal supports. Moya was there with them, as was Rinaa, who was now sporting a watertight clingfilm and bandage combination around her left wrist. At the sight of Benji determinedly striding toward him, Matteo attempted to slip away unnoticed, but was easily spotted by Benji and a pack of sandy, slightly wet dogs.

 

[MzHyde]

Back at the main house to the side, Kay and Fia saw everyone putting the tables into one long one whilst Matteo stayed with his friends. The moment he noticed Benji Fia smirked as he tried to make a run for it only to fail miserably, and her attention to go to Elliott as he walked over. She wasn't surprised that Rinaa was just as smug at the news as she was, knowing that the two of them knew of his crush before most of the others even if they didn't know whom the crush was on. "let's just say Fia didn't hold back the single smug 'ha' when she read the forwarded message to her." Kay said smiling. "Matteo is gonna be in a rough ride with Benji that's for sure. I actually feel sorry for him" Fia added.

Kay had to agree especially seeing Benji chasing after him, knowing that Benji definitely wasn't going to let this drop any time soon. "poor kid" she simply said one last time. She then got reminded by herself about the video she took of her group playing in the sea that she promised Elliott he could watch, making a mental note to show him when they were all sitting at the table, figuring it would be the best time to do it, especially as it would no doubt cause a conversation to be had. "so what's going on about the whole food situation? I'm wondering if there's time to go take a shower or not. Not that it matters either way" Fia asked, she didn't mind either way as she was never body conscious, she just liked to know as she was aware of sand being in her hair and stuck to her legs.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott smiled at the description of Fia's response, he could easily imagine her doing that. Rinaa's reaction had been similar, a smug, slightly fond smirk accompanied by the words. "Good on them." Nat nodded at Fia's words, "Yup he is. Benji's..." Nat trailed off, unsure of how exactly to best describe his older brother's behaviour. "Well.... full on doesn't quite describe it. You've seen his reaction to the news, this is the kind of thing he lives for, I say it's cos he can't get a stable relationship himself but he says it's because he cares." "I can't claim to know your brother anywhere near as well as you do, but I'm gonna guess the truth is a mix of both?" Chas told Nat, watching as Benji easily caught up with his younger brother. They were too far away to hear (or lip read) what was being said, but it was clear from their body language, that, for now Matteo wasn't saying anything.

Nat nodded at Chas' assertion. "That's what Cliff always says, and she's good at figuring out what makes people tick." "In other word, yer on the right track mate." John told him, Cliff's observations on people had proved to be spot on in the time John had spent with her. Her gift for detecting lies was also incredibly accurate, but according to the doctor, she mostly used it in a work context to see how patients were really feeling."Well good luck to Matteo, and the other guy." Elliott replied, a little later than everybody else. "They're gonna need it, that's all I'll say, especially since Charlie called in the cavalry." Jay added, having been there when the messages from Alex came through.

Elliott was the one to answer Fia's question. "Anywhere between ten and fifteen minutes really." Jay smirked at his answer before giving one of her own. "In other words it depends on how much of a shower you feel you need. If it's just to get the sand out with no beauty products being added, then yes, you have time. But if you want to go for the full shebang, conditioner, gel, moisturiser and whatever else, then no, there isn't anywhere near enough time."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay both listened to Nat as he described or tried to describe Benji's behaviour. Both girls smirked at Nat and Chas' description of him, especially when it proved Chas was pretty much right on the money with his guess. Kay also had found that Cliff was nearly right the entire time with her obversations of people, just from the short time she had known her.

As Elliott and Jay replied to her question, she nodded deciding that she did just want to get rid of the sand off her skin and hair. She could always do the rest of her routine later before going to bed she decided. "just wanna wash the sand off of me and out of my hair really." she replied to the two of them. "Nat I know this is cheeky of me to ask but can I borrow your family's shower to save me going all the way back to The House?" she then turned and asked him. She was desperate to get sort of clean but not that desperate. She knew she'd just keep her bikini on even when she showered so she wouldn't even have to worry about a change of clothes as such.

Kay was glad that Fia had the sense and courtesy to ask if she could use Cliff's family bathroom, rather than just go there without asking. It did make sense to her why her kid would ask such a thing as well, knowing that Fia would probably end up needing to run to The House and then back again just to be able to use a shower.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Nat just waved off her request, knowing that nobody would have any problem with her using it. "Yeah, it's totally cool, I don't mind at all and I know none of the others will. And since everybody is outside." His eyes scanned the crowd outside to make sure that his claim was correct (which it was). "You've got your pick of the bathrooms too. The first floor one is the first door you when you reach the top of the staircase. The one on the second floor is the last door on the right. I'd recommend the one on the second floor though, given how many guests we have here. And remember to check it's locked, sometimes it's a bit finicky. And any stuff in the shower is fair game too." He added as he pulled his own shirt back on.

Once Fia had left Elliott turned to John. "Fia looks, much better than earlier." "Yeah she is, miracle what some time on a beach messing about, and the presence of a trio of dogs will do for a teenager's mood." At some point jay had evidently been filled in on what had happened as she didn't look surprised by Elliott's line of conversation. "Why am I not surprised that the dogs helped?" he asked with a fond half smile. "there's gonna be a re-ignition of the dog debate when she gets back to her own timeline no doubt." "Luckily I, as in this version of me wont have to deal with it." John smirked in a relived way. Fia was tenacious, he knew that much, if there was a loophole to exploit then he had a feeling she'd find it. He had no qualms with fobbing the job off on his future self.

"Here's hoping that bond thingy fixes it, cos it really did look like World War Three was gonna kick off back there." Elliott added, to which Jay nodded. and Jay. "Speaking of which, how is the other teenager?" Elliott glanced at Rinaa, making sure she was out of earshot before answering in a lowered voice. "Definitely better, Sykes has been giving her a lot of shit lately, turns out her other half is one of the originals from the genetic experimentation programme and retains memories of the whole thing too. The drugs are only making things worse, the wolf side doesn't like taking them, brings back memories of being experimented on apparently. And Rinaa isn't the greatest fan of them either, but without them it's psychosis and chronic pain on the cards. But she's convinced this forfeit thingy will work." "Put it this way, you don't make one of those unless you're deadly serious and have no other option. I speak as one who was part of a forfeit bond before. If this doesn't work, then..... that's it for her." There was disapproval in Jay's tone, she was not happy at all with Rinaa doing this. She understood why, but she knew the stakes better than anybody else too and was uncomfortable with the consequences if this went wrong. However imperfect Rinaa was, the teenager had grown on her, and Jay wasn't ready to lose her only biological family.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to the permission given to use the bathroom and carefully listened to where each floor's one was before taking the recommendation of the second floor one on board. "thanks" she replied and headed off to inside the house and up to the second floor. Remembering that Nat said it was the last door on the right, she headed straight there and walked inside before locking the door and making sure it was locked. She sighed happily knowing she was about to clean up and enough to not risk getting sand in her food when she ate. Turning the shower on, she took off her wrap skirt and stepped inside, borrowing some shower gel in the process to help.

Kay glanced over when Fia walked inside the house before turning to Elliott when he spoke about Fia's new upbeat mood. Even though he said it to John, she still nodded in agreement that yes, she was indeed much better mood wise. Remembering everything she witnessed of Fia mucking about with the boys and dogs did bring another smile to her face, only for it to widen slightly when she saw Elliott get a fond smile on his face at John's reply. When Chas brought up the reignition of the great dog debate and whether she could have one, Kay knew he was right. It was bound to happen, she could just tell. "likewise, our future selves can deal with it instead because she won't make it easy that's for sure" she replied.

She also hoped that Rinaa's idea of this bond and agreement with her and her wolf persona would work also. She had to agree with Elliott when he said it looked like world war three would kick off. She listened to what Elliott in reply to John's question, finding it equally fascinating and sad that all that was being dealt with by just one teenager. As Jay put in her opinion and expertise on the subject matter, Kay continued to listen. It was clear to her that Jay wasn't impressed by the course of action taken even if there was a undertone of understanding on the decision as well. "let's hope it works, I don't think she would have chosen it if she didn't think it would work" she said.

 

[_gallifrog_]

As Nat had said earlier, there was nobody inside the house. There were four bedrooms on the first floor (one of which was a guest room) while the second floor had another two bedrooms along with a study room. With all five kids currently living in the house, there was a wide variety of hair care products lurking near the shower. Although Fia had no way of knowing whose shower gel was whose, the shower gel in question was Charlie's.

John and Chas listened as Elliott told them what he'd been told about Rinaa's situation. Chas felt slightly hurt that Rinaa hadn't felt she could come to him and talk about any of it. Based on what Elliott was saying, this had been going on quite a while and steadily getting worse, yet at no point did the teenager consider asking anybody for help. She was family and shouldn't be suffering in silence. Which made him realise something else, up until that morning Rinaa had let on no signs that anything was wrong. It must be some kind of self preservation tactic, show people nothing is wrong and they're more likely to leave you alone. Would it be like that when she died, the facade remaining up until the very last second? "Jeez, that sounds awful, I can't begin to imagine what that's like for either of them.

As John suspected earlier, Jay did indeed disapprove of the whole thing. Jay had been pretty lax and chill with almost everything Rinaa had said or done in her past, anything illegal got more encouragement than discouragement. Even learning of the vigilante activities of her daughter just made her proud, proud that her kid had found a path and people and was willing to be a better person that Jay had been in her life. "We have no other option really, we can't interfere in the bond, or break it. And that much is true, yes, but I don't trust the wolf. We know next to nothing about it, and what we do know, we can't confirm. Up until now it seemed to hate everyone and everything, If it's changed it's tune then there has to be a reason. And I doubt any of us will like it."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay could tell from Chas' tone that he was a little hurt and upset that Rinaa felt she couldn't talk to him if no one else about what was going on. It just showed Kay that natural parental and paternal instinct he had over people. She also noticed how differently Jay was over this whole situation in comparison to the pride she always showed at Rinaa's other choices and activities. This told Kay so much about just what a big deal and last resort option this Isogrii bond had to be, as well as telling her that Rinaa wouldn't have taken this choice lightly. She listened to what else Jay had to say, pointing out that none of them really could know if this wolf Sykes was indeed telling the truth about anything, as well as making a very valid point that it does seem highly abnormal for it too just switch its mind so rapidly, seemingly out of the blue. "for now I say we trust Rinaa's judgement. We don't have much choice in the matter anyway." Kay then said.

During the chat they all had outside, Fia managed to finish in the shower looking a lot less gritty from sand particles, before stepping out to use her towel that had previously been shaken to remove the sand to dry off before putting her wrap skirt back on. She felt so much better for the quick wash down of fresh warm water, and looked in the bathroom mirror just to run her fingers through her hair a bit so it didn't dry tangled. She did the same tactic on her towel that Kay used earlier to mostly dry her hair just before she picked up her phone again off the sink where she left it and left the bathroom. Heading back down and out she saw their group was still chatting whilst Rinaa remained out of earshot with Moya and company. She walked back over and rejoined the group.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John agreed completely with what Jay was saying. All they knew about this wolf, who called herself Sykes, had come from the wolf herself. And so far the wolf side had proved itself to be aggressive, easily angered and an expert at lashing out verbally where it hurt most. Hardly the kind of person who would simply just give in and construct a meticulous contract. "I agree, it doesn't fit. There's something else going on here, something that none of us know about." John cast a glance over at where Rinaa was. She was currently laughing at a photo being passed around by Matteo's friends, one arm around Moya's shoulders. The teenager looked ordinary-a girl laughing with mates- yet that was so far from the truth.

"That's what worries me, she's been playing the long game from the start." "I trust Rinaa enough to say she knows what she's doing and the seriousness of it." Elliott told Jay, meaning every word. He did trust that Rinaa was doing what she believed was right. Rinaa knew the most out of all of them and was the only one qualified enough to make a call. "Yeah, I trust her too she's a strategist. The wolf is a different matter altogether. She knows something we don't. When that wolf DOES make an appearance, I'm getting answers. There was an edge of 'by whatever means necessary' in Jay's voice and a hardness in her eyes that reminded then all that behind this blue haired woman in cut-off shorts and a racerback top was a cold, calculating assassin.

Chas caught sight of Fia returning and with a discreet nod of his head in her direction the others quickly changed the topic of conversation to the only thing they could think of- Benji and Matteo- while finding places at the main table. The two brothers had returned and matteo made a point of sitting as far away from his oldest brother as possible, flashing his friends a 'kill me now!' look.

It was shortly after they had sat down that two more people joined the group, a tall man with blackish brown hair and a woman with red hair cut even shorter than Rinaa's in a style that could only be described as a military buzzcut. Upon seeing Charlie he grinned and called over happily. "Charlie! Still catching criminals I take it?" The policewoman smirked as she got up to greet her best friend with a half hug that was really more of an excuse to slap each other on the back. "You know me too well. Still showing off in courtrooms Alex?" "Well if I wasn't then I wouldn't be doing my job now would I?" Meanwhile jay and the redhead had adopted identical arms crossed stances, staring daggers at one another.

 

[MzHyde]

With the conversation taking the direction it was, Kay had to admit she agreed with everyone's point of view, but she did lean more to Elliott's opinion as it was echoing what she was previously saying. She nodded in agreement at Jay's comment about trusting Rinaa with what she was doing but not the wolf side, though for her it was slightly out of biased thinking as the wolf did have a habit of really upsetting her own kid. She really didn't blame Jay for wanting to get answers either by any method necessary either.

When Fia walked back, she noticed Chas five her the nod of acknowledgement making them all decide to change the subject, something Kay felt bad about doing partly but also knew it was for the best as she didn't want Fia's mood to be lowered because of what was being said about Rinaa. Both teenagers were now in a cheerful mood and it was obvious that none of them in their group wanted to ruin that. Fia didn't even ask what she had missed, but instead walked over with the lot of them to a place at the table, deciding she wanted to sit between John and Chas this time, in comparison to her usual sitting next to Kay or opposite her and John.

When the arrival of the new people came over both girls glanced up and looked at Charlie greeting them instantly realising one of them was Alex, which was only confirmed by Charlie hugging one of them. Fia found it curious that Jay was staring daggers at the redhead and vise versa. "do you know her Jay?" she asked quietly.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John thought it a smart idea on Chas' part to alert them to Fia returning. They'd already had one major bust up between the teenagers, and last thing he wanted was for Fia to be reminded of it and slip back into her earlier funk. She didn't need to go through that sort of mental self doubt again, John knew from experience that it was physically as well as emotionally draining. Rinaa he noticed chose not to sit with family, instead sticking with Moya and the other teenagers, hardly surprising given how close she'd become to the winged girl.

The famous Alex (though infamous might be a better word) was clearly delighted to see Charlie. Based off the conversation Chas guessed he was a lawyer of some sort. Chas would have tried to figure out which of Matteo's friends he was related to, but Jay's reaction to other person caught his attention instead. Elliott recognised the change come over Jay immediately upon spotting the redhead, her back straightened, her muscles tensed and her eyes snapped back to a cold grey colour. It was a posture Elliott had been the cause of it many times. This was Jay on the alert, having decided somebody was a threat and was making sure they knew it. John noticed it too and gave a questioning look to Elliott who just shrugged back with a face that said 'I don't know what's going on either'.

"Old enemey?" he asked Jay knowing that she had more enemies than she did friends and allies. Jay nodded twice, once for Elliott's words and once at Fia's words, never taking her eyes off the other woman. "Oh yes, we go back years." She replied quietly before standing up and addressing the other woman by her full name. "Quincenti Kapani." "Jaminaz Tziyen, back from the dead I see, or whatever rock you've been hiding under for the past few years." The woman replied with a stony face as she delivered her insult. jay's face showed no response as she stepped forwards. "Still stuck on bodyguard duty I see? You never became good enough to advance in all these years? Or is he your next hit?" By 'he' she clearly meant Alex. Both women were circling each other now, their movements and gazes predatory, each keeping their hands close to various concealed weapons as they traded insults. "Say what you will, I never got caught."

 

[MzHyde]

To say curiosity piqued away at Fia and Kay would be an understatement. They watched on as Jay nodded at both Fia's and Elliott's questions before getting up and addressing the redheaded woman. They watched on with held breath as the two of them exchanged insults and circled each other, wondering what was going on and why it was being made so public here at Cliff's family home. In Kay's mind it wasn't the time to possibly start something and they had dealt with enough conflict for one day, but it was clear to her that neither of these women thought it out of the question if it came to it.

"I really hope this doesn't escalate to anything. It's the last thing anyone needs when Cliff's family are being so welcoming to everyone" Kay commented. Fia nodded in agreement, she didn't say anything but the thought that did go through her mind was 'having two teenagers at war is surely enough for these people and our family, we don't need two adults at war as well surely'. Kay found herself unable to take her eyes of the two predatory adults in front of them wondering what was going to happen between them even though she hoped it would be nothing. She protectively placed one hand on her bump subconsciously giving it a slight massage. When all Fia wanted to do was eat, enjoy the rest of the lighthearted mood before going back to The House and having a proper shower and going to bed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Watching the two women face off reminded John of two wildcats about to fight for dominance. These two had history that much he was certain off, and judging by Elliott's expressions he didn't know any of it. Had it been two men facing off John would have been positive that the whole place would be awash with testosterone. But there wasn't the same ring to 'awash with oestrogen'. It was clear that two had forgotten where they were and who was watching, trading snide insults while their faces gave nothing away. "We really are starting to look like truly awful guests what with all the baggage family products and now assassin catfights that we bring in our wake." "We'll just have to make it up to them somehow if they ever come to visit us again.Any idea why these two are so up at each other?" "Unfortunately not, but getting between those two is just asking for it."

It was Alex who broke the tension in the end, shaking his head and giving an apologetic look at Charlie and her family, evidently this had happened to him before. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and give a piercing whistle, causing both assassins to spin around and focus their glaring at him instead. "OI! Stop it! We all know you're both trained assassins, but I came here for dinner and not a fight. So either go beat the pulp out of each other somewhere else or stop trying to psych each other out. It's interesting for a couple of minutes, but after a while it's just boring." Jay gave him a raised eyebrow look, before casting her eyes back at Quincenti, who gave her an answering look of 'long story'. Neither was happy to have their catfight broken up, but both women liked Cliff's family and respected the fact that they were in the wrong. "Old blood, sorry it got out control." "Yeah, I apologise for that."

John gave a look at Elliott, he was impressed by how this Alex person had persuaded an unknown assassin to back down and apologise. "Ell, you need to learn how to do that, might work on your kid as well." "I know, he's got balls, I think I'd get my block knocked off if I did that."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded at Elliott's words, kind of agreeing with him that it wasn't looking good on them all that drama always seemed to stir up around members of their group for one reason or another. It was looking incredibly bad, especially as it wasn't just Cliff's family that were around right now. There were other guests as well whom were just enjoying their little break away and minding their own business. She could see clear as day that if anyone got between the two women that they wouldn't be conscious for long, or if they were they'd sport one hell of a sign of a hit whether it be a bruise like Elliott once had not that long ago or some other cut.

When Alex broke up the tension, it brought an internal sigh of relief to Kay and Fia, strangely both thankful that someone could successfully break it up without losing a limb or their life. Something neither girl thought was passed either of these tensed up women. It was highly impressive at how easily Alex managed to break it up also as well as getting two assassins to actually apologise for their behaviour. Kay and Fia smirked when John spoke to Elliott saying it was something he should pick up not only for Jay but for Rinaa as well. "after that beauty of the shiner Ell recently sported, I'm with him on that. I dont think he'd survive he attempted that trick" kay smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott winced slightly at the memory of Jay punching him in the face. He'd been on the end of beatings before, but that single punch from jay carried more force behind it than every hit in a barrage added together. Elliott wasn't easily downed, but the punch had him flying backwards across the room, nearly hitting his head off the bookshelf. The black eye had finally faded away completely. Had it still been there on the wedding day he would have covered it over, but there turned out to be no need for that." "Yeah, and that was from only one punch." John added, he remembered the instant after he saw the punch feeling a mixture of admiration and terror. If that was what Jay could do to a person she liked, then he couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like for somebody she disliked. "I'm in no hurry to be on the receiving end of that again. This Alex is either very brave or very stupid. Though when it came to my black eye, I kinda deserved it, I did say she was responsible for her brother's death after all." Chas made a scrunched up face that could only be described as 'eeesh'. They knew by now that Jack's death was something Jay hadn't gotten over and did blame herself for. Elliott's words said in anger had struck a chord in Jay.

Jay made to walk back to the others, but not without turning and brushing past the other assassin, bashing into Quincenti's shoulder in a passive-aggressive manner that symbolised their little dispute was far from over. She returned to the group, a half scowl still on her face. "So, who is that? And why's she worth commiting murder in front of a crowd of witnesses." Elliott asked, a sharp edge to his tone, conveying that his anger and curiosity were equally matched. "I wouldn't have killed her" Jay answered, a slight edge of annoyance to her tone. "At least not here anyway. As for who she is? She was right in saying old bad blood, even if the actual explanation is more complicated then that. Quincenti and I grew up together and were trained together by the same people. We go back years, there was a time we worked together yes, but she's now firmly in the enemy-rival category, both in a personal AND a business sense."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia noticed the reaction to Kay's words, reminding them all of Elliott's impressive black eye, showing them that that was something no one would forget any time soon. When John said how that was only from one punch, Kay gave the gesture to say 'exactly my point' whilst thinking similar to John about the fact that if that was something she could accomplish on someone she liked, she did not want to be someone she disliked. "deserving it or not, thinking of that as an example of something small she could do, I wouldn't ever want to be someone she disliked enough to do more than that. As for Alex? It's probably a mixture of both stupidity and bravery" Kay replied.

She noticed the way Jay passive aggressively brushed passed Quincenti as she made her way back to the table to the rest of them, deciding she wasn't going to say a single thing about what just went down, however it seemed Elliott was thinking the exact opposite as he did ask her what it was all about with quite the tone put onto the question. She listened to Jay's explanation of who this woman was, as did Fia and everyone else, deciding to just take Jay's word for it even if it did seem like an understatement to them both on the subject.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott almost always questioned Jay after she did or reacted to something. Jay wasn't usually the one to instigate a conversation about her past of private life and Elliott had realised after knowing her for so many years that the only way to get answers was to ask. At first when the relationship between them was tense and distrustful his questions would be met with either a glare or a remark along the lines of 'fuck of it's none of your business'. But as they became closer Jay relaxed and learned to trust him, opening up more and more. In this case Elliott learned more what Jay didn't say than from what Jay actually said. It was clear from Jay's tone that she felt she had to justify to him why she acted the way she did. This woman was somebody she'd known a long time, they hadn't always been rivals, but along the way something had happened that turned them against each other, a wedge strong enough that Jay would kill this woman if the right circumstances arose.

"So she's Isogrii too then?" Elliott asked, knowing that the fact that Jay bore no physical resemblance to the woman meant nothing, the Isogrii were a wandering tribe after all with many of the members being adopted into the life. "Yes, she is. She comes from a long bloodline of Isogrii warriors actually, on her father's side. she's sixth generation." "So she has the subdermal ink channels too then?" "Indeed does, but hers have patterns that are symbolic references to her ancestors, Like how mine, Rinaa's and Jack's all share similar elements." Jay spoke quietly, glancing up every so often to where the other assassin was sitting. Judging by the attitudes of her and Alex, they were having a similar conversation to her and Elliott. "So she has a timeline connected gift?" "Precognitive fighter, she can sense the move before you do it, deadly in one on one, but can be beaten in a group attack." "So what's she doing here then?" John asked, butting in, if Elliott could ask a whole bunch of questions, then he felt he could try his luck too. Jay rolled her eyes in response. "It's obvious really, she's Alex's bodyguard."

 

[MzHyde]

Elliott's and Jay's connection to being able to just ask the difficult questions and get through to each other was admirable in Fia's eyes particularly. She found watching them that it was obvious that what they had on that spectrum was special and not just because they liked each other a lot. It was a mutual respect thing, something she truly hoped one day she would find with someone, friend or partner. Kay also admired it, but not as much as Fia, only because she found John had that same ability to get answers out of her when he wanted or needed them. Kay found it was clearly a common trait between the two of them.

Hearing that this Quincenti was isogrii as well wasn't much of a surprise to either Kay or Fia after the initial explanation of how Jay knew her. The next part of the answers were however interesting to the both of them. They continued to listen until John took a chance to ask a question to Jay, feeling like the answer would be obvious, which it was. "I thought she had that whole bodyguard vibe going on when she walked in with Alex so not entirely shocking to hear that" Fia remarked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John did feel slightly stupid for not making the connection earlier, why else would somebody have a trained assassin at their side? "And I'm about 80% sure she likes him." Jay added in an off hand manner. "Not saying you're wrong, but how can you be sure?" Chas asked, leaning in to join the conversation, not caring how obvious they were making it that they were discussing the other assassin. "She's been here before for one, but more tellingly she's not doing the usual detached bodyguard thing where you sit a metre or so away and scope everybody out through narrowed eyes." Elliott snorted at that, thinking back to the fact that staying a metre or so away and judging everybody was exactly what Jay had been doing to John's group since they first met. Jay knew exactly what he was thinking and fixed him with a stern look and a sharp "shut up Elliott" to which Elliott's ears reddened with blush. "And she's answering Alex's questions about me. And the clincher is that as soon as he told her to stand down, not only did she obey instantly, she looked guilty about having let the 'old blood' get the better of her and make her look bad." She said the words 'old blood' in an almost derogatory tone, scoffing slightly.

As they were talking the food was brought out and dispersed across the table along with various drinks, jugs of water and ice buckets spread out at convenient intervals. The food on offer was similar to that of the night before, a variety of starters, sides and mains, but was more fish-centric than yesterday. The centrepiece was a local delicacy consisting of what looked to be some kind of shark or whale that had been sliced into segments and slow cooked over a smoky fire. Rinaa's eyes lit up upon seeing it "oh yes, now THAT'S what I'm talking about!" she exclaimed with a grin, grabbing a plate and a meat carving knife and jumping up to get the first slice.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay rose an eyebrow at the off hand remark about her being certain Quincenti liked Alex on more than a professional basis. That was one vibe she didn't get off the woman, but then again she was focusing more on the fact it looked like they were to fight each other instead. She listened to Jay's reasonings for why she was pretty sure of the other feelings toward Alex, nodding finding git now made sense why she backed off so quickly. She glanced at Elliott when he snorted at the reasoning but smirked the moment Jay told him to shut up.

With the food coming out Fia and Kay looked up to see what was on offer and saw the display of everything. Both noticed that for the most part it was very similar to the night before except for the fact there was a lot more varying fish on offer. Both of them smirked at Rinaa's reaction even though she chose to sit with the other teenagers, when Fia stood up to grab a plate and get herself some food. "want me to get yours too Kay?" she asked, having been aware of how Kay had been even though they had John between them. "please, thanks kiddo" she replied feeling thankful for the gesture, even though she was willing to do it herself despite it getting to the point it was getting difficult to lean over tables. Fia nodded and grabbed Kay a plate also, going between the plates of good and getting them both a good mixture of things.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Kay wasn't the only one surprised by jay's remark, but after listening to her reasonings John, Chas and Elliott had to admit to themselves that she had a point. The last observation was the strongest in their minds, if Jay was wrong about there being a romantic attachment, it did say that they were close friends as opposed to an assassin and a mark to protect. "You make a strong case on that." Chas replied, grabbing a plateful of the dish nearest to him. He wasn't particularly fussy about what he ate, he was ravenous and everything on offer smelled and looked amazing (with the exception of some weird octopus or squid based dishes). "And I know she's straight, though I can't say if he's her 'type' I don't know enough about the guy." Jay was clearly falling back into her old habits of giving backchat about assassins she didn't like, her face still slipping into a slight scowl, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly whenever the red buzzcut entered her line of sight.

Rinaa's reaction to the showpiece made Jay and Elliott smile, she clearly loved the food on Ciiff's home planet and the way her eyes lit up with joy seemed to change her whole face. It was an expression they both wanted to see more of. "Don't eat it all Artemis, save some for me." Jay called over, grabbing her own plate and joining her daughter. Both liked different cuts of meat, Jay preferred the meat around the jaws and neck, while Rinaa preferred the loins."Fine, fine." The teenager smirked, carving off a massive chunk.

The others helped themselves and the conversation moved away from assassins to more normal (at least by their standards) things. Both Jay and John were leaning back in their chairs as they ate, confident that two legs could support them just as much as one. They'd ended up grouping their chairs into a tighter group so everybody could hear what everybody else was saying. The tense atmosphere from earlier's almost fight had dissipated and the air was filled with laughter and fast paced voices, punctuated by the occasional moan as somebody found a food they considered exquisite.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay were similar to Chas, neither found the appeal of the squid and octopus dishes, Fia because she was admittedly slightly creeped out by the whole eating tentacles thing. She also wasn't ever a fan of shrimp as again, their heads is what creeped her out. She had seen enough videos online of people using their head as finger puppets to prank family members and ever since she was put off of them. Kay just was picky with her fish, though she had gotten better since knowing Cliff and got into eating a bit more, even though it wasn't ever her first choice particularly.

They listened to the conversation as it went on about other assassin, yet the moment it turned to more light hearted topics, both girls were thankful for it. As it all went on, Kay remembered to show Elliott the video she took of the others earlier, bringing it up on her phone and handing it to him, "the video I promised you to see" she smiled. It showing him the middle of the weird frisbee game they were all playing, the clip including just how competitive they all got with each other including Fia's climbing over John and Chas to get it. It showing the happiest she had been ever since she had come back to this time, not including the time she was playing on stage the night before.