Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay half smirked at John's reply to her comeback, and she could tell he was taking what she was saying to be a compliment, despite what he said in retaliation. "you're more than that but right now you're a glorified pillow" she said with a glint to her eyes. The remark came out so casually but it was obvious she was just being a smart ass and only truly meant the first part of what she replied to him. She was tempted to say 'so humour this hormonal woman' but refrained from doing so for the time being. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand when a yawn escaped her, tucking some hair behind her ear afterwards. She really was comfortable in this position, glad that she woke up like it and not in her usual position of her back to John.

Fia was just heading to the bath when the text came through and she found herself smirking at it. Having checked the reply, that was when she headed to the bathroom before coming back to her bedroom and getting dressed in her usual black jeans and black vest attire. Pulling her combat boots on and tying the laces, she grabbed her jacket and phone and headed out. Jogging down the stairs as she did so, she quickly stopped by the front door, pausing and taking her phone out quickly texting both John's and Kay's phones.

'heading out to take the dogs for a walk with Matteo. Incase you wonder where I've gone x'
​

Pressing send, she opened the door and headed to Matteo and the three dogs for the morning walk.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"As long as I'm not one o' those weird neck pillow things that looks more like a toilet seat than a pillow I'm pretty okay with that." He shot back. John never understood why travel neck pillows were such a big deal. He'd tried one once, but it had only made the neck pains from sleeping on a plane even worse. When his and Kay's phone chimed with a notification he just glared at his. "I know it's prob'ly Fia, but some part of me is convinced it's me mobile service provider informing me of the extortionate roaming charges for when you're in space." He told Kay, removing his arm from around her so he would roll and grab his phone. After reading the text he turned the phone towards Kay so she could read it too.

Matteo was already outside on the porch with the dogs, a travel mug in one hand, phone in the other. The smell of coffee was wafting from the house and it seemed like almost everybody staying with them had descended upon the coffee machine. Chris was talking to his brother, Moya and Elliott in the middle of the porch while the two assassins had retreated to opposite ends of the porch and were once again glaring at each other and copying each other's body language. Both were leaning against their respective sides of the porch, a hug of coffee in their hand, one bare foot against the wall and glaring through aviator sunglasses at the other. This had been going on for a good half an hour, with neither showing any signs of giving up. Neither was actually intending to do anything other than glare and emit a threatening aura. There was no sign of Rinaa or Chas.

Matteo looked up at her arrival. "Finally! There's coffee in the house if you're interested, just slap it in any of the travel mugs and this lot can finally get going." He gestured at the dogs who had originally been lying down on the porch, but at the sight of Fia they'd gotten up and were eagerly walking around.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay couldn't help but chuckle a little at his retort, finding he did have a point about the look of those travel pillows. She did used to have one but she made a point of making it so squishy to make it comfortable. She would always prefer a proper pillow or cushion over a travel one however. "nah, you're not one of those." she told him as their phones pinged with an incoming text. She grumbled when it happened as it meant John rolled over and let go of her to check his phone, but smirked when he said what he did. She looked at the text, seeing it was indeed Fia letting them know where she was. "gotta give her props for keeping us in the loop" she commented, getting comfortable again.

Fia saw who was around the porch and who wasn't, taking a guess that Chas was still in The House if he wasn't already up and over at this house. Which she had to admit, was unusual for him but she thought nothing of it, figuring he just needed a lay in or something and not realising what had gone on during the night. She saw how the dogs got up excitedly seeing her walk over and smirked at Matteo's reaction to seeing her appear. "awesome, thanks. Will grab one and I'll be right with you" she told him, heading into the house and in the kitchen where she very gladly borrowed a travel mug and made herself a white coffee with one sugar before reappearing on the porch. "okay, let's head out, sorry for keeping you waiting by the way, slept longer than I intended" she told him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Good!" John declared with a little more emphasis on the word than was strictly necessary. "Yep, though it really wouldn't take a genius to figure out where she'd gone and with who, the options are kinda limited on the island." John replied, setting back into more comfortable position for texting, wrapping one arm around Kay without even thinking about the gesture while typing a reply with his free hand. (And who says men can't multitask?). The reply was brief and to the point, John never being one for typing big essays.

"Have fun and don't let the dogs pull you off a cliff- John"​

"Seems to be a regular occurrence, you sleeping in late." Matteo remarked, whistling for the dogs and waving goodbye to the others. "And it's her you should be apologising to anyway, the phone thief herself." He added with a smirk, rubbing Meyer's head affectionately before the dog made her way over to Fia, shoving her head right under Fia's hand, butting it with her nose in what was clearly a demand for attention and affection. "Anywhere in particular you want me to take you or should we just follow whatever way the dogs deem a good path?"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smiled at the way he put more emphasis than necessary on his reply to her as he just got himself comfortable again and wrapped his arm round her again, something she welcomed greatly. She let him reply to Fia's text listening to what he said, "true that." she replied, wrapping her arm over him in a half hug. She knew John wouldn't reply with a lengthy reply but seeing what his reply was did amuse her and figured it would amuse Fia as well or get him some smart ass reply in return.

Fia would protest what Matteo said about it being regular occurance of her waking up late but she knew he wasn't wrong. She was a late waker and not always a morning person, especially if she had a late night the night before. "I would protest that but I actually can't. I'm always bad at getting up in the morning if I forget to put an alarm on" she replied sheepishly. She then looked at Meyer being head rubs from Matteo before she came over butted her hand with her nose. "I'm sorry girl, forgive me?" she said giving Meyer lots of head rubs and pets. She then looked up at Matteo when he asked about what path to take, "I don't mind where we go" she told him as she felt her phone go off in her pocket. She briefly stopped petting Meyer to check her phone and smirked at John's reply and texting back "what do you take me for? You? I'm not that clumsy!"

 

[_gallifrog_]

John rolled his eyes at the reply tempted to fire back with something like "I'll have you know that I would either a) fall of a cliff with grave dignity and poise or b) throw myself off it in the most dramatic way possible." but decided against it in the end, just tucking the phone away. Sending something like that could just result in some kind of texting war and right now he quite frankly couldn't be arsed. He put the phone back onto the side table, putting it face down and relaxed back into the bed.

"Yeah well, you're up now, so that's the important bit. You've probably noticed by now, but we're all morning people, though my sisters seem to spend an extraordinary amount of time doing overtime and late night shifts. And Nat burns the midnight oil before exams. Guess that's what I have to look forwards to in the future." He smiled, heading past the stable building and towards the woods, the two male dogs running up ahead, chasing some scent or another while Meyer basked in the attention Fia was giving her. Meyer was going to miss Fia when she was gone, he could tell. "Yeah, she forges you, but donating your breakfast to filling the bottomless pit that is her stomach would also help smooth the apology along." He smirked.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was glad that John decided to not get into a texting war with his daughter. She could tell that Fia wouldn't back down if one was started and as amusing as it would be, she knew it'd be endless. So she made the most of the moment that she could just relax in bed with him with no more interruptions of phones going off for a little while, especially as when baby Fia arrived they would get even less of it than they already do.

Fia had noticed from the beginning that Matteo's family were very much morning people compared to herself and Kay. "yeah, I noticed" she smirked. Continuing to give Meyer all the fuss she demanded of her as they walked, seeing the other two dogs run off ahead chasing a scent they picked up on. Fia would very much miss Meyer as well when she went, she knew that we'll and it would be difficult to leave her but knew she would have to. "I'll remember that when I have breakfast later" she chuckled.

 

[_gallifrog_]

For once John felt no urge to get up and actually do something constructive. Some part of him deep, deep, down had the foolish belief that if he didn't leave the bed then his morning wouldn't be interrupted by whatever shit the world intended to throw at them. But he would never own up to thinking that, he'd rather saying he was quite enjoying what could be classified as 'typical couple behaviour' or even worse 'domestic bliss' than admit to such a naive belief that the world would change just because he was in bed. Even after all they'd learned yesterday John felt surprisingly refreshed and had pretty much made his peace with everything. Of course it was easier for him to make peace with the whole Fira thing because of the fact that he'd never grown up with a mother figure on his life and he'd never met the woman, so there was no emotional connection to the situation. After a while sitting in comfortable silence he finally asked the question that had been nagging at him for a while. "So, how are you holdin' up after all of yesterday's drama?"

"Good, good, she'll really love that, won't you girl?" He fondled the dog's head lovingly before letting Fia resume the petting. Meyer eventually decided she'd had enough and bounded away to join up with the other dogs who were walking a couple of metres ahead of Matteo. The teenager kept an eye on them, looking away from the conversation with Fia to check that all three dogs were still there and hadn't just disappeared. "So what're you going to do with yourself after you leave here?" Matteo asked, knowing that Cliff was only staying for another day, two at most before she'd get yanked back to work. The plan for the honeymoon was to wait until the winter months of Attil when the weather was shitty and miserable, take a few weeks leave and fly off somewhere together.

 

[MzHyde]

If someone had walked in and said it looked like she was enjoying the 'normal couple scene' in front of them, she would just admitted it like it was no big deal, shrugging it off. For once she wouldn't try to deny anything and just accept it that yes, she was enjoying laying in bed with the man she had grown to love and doing absolutely bugger all in the process. She wasn't ever going to apologise for such a thing. When he asked the question she was partly expecting, she sighed a little. "To be honest? I'm still wrapping my head around it. It plagued my sleep last night with childhood memories of her that I just about still remember." she told him.

Fia smiled as she continued petting Meyer before letting her run after her brothers and find out what they were doing. Out of instinct she herself found herself keeping an eye on the dogs as well. She glanced at Matteo when he asked what she was going to be doing when they leave here and she didn't fully know what to say. "not fully sure, I guess head back to Attil for a bit to help Elliott sort out his situation there before heading back to Earth and see my own secret dog. After that? I dunno" she said after giving it thought on how to word what the plans were, without giving off any clues she was a time traveller. So she remained casual in her tone and demeanor to make it all believable.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John noted Kay's, sigh at the question, but they couldn't just tiptoe around this issue or pretend that it didn't happen. He wasn't surprised that she was still out of sorts over it, one didn't learn something ground breaking about one of their parents and then be totally okay with it a few hours later. The dreams didn't surprise him either, it was a trait common to them all it seemed. "I'm not surprised really, that was pretty shockin' a us all, but outside of Fia, you're the only one with a real emotional connection to her and even then." He shrugged unsure of how to explain what he was thinking or what to say next. "Anythin' weird or wonderful in these memories or was it all just mundane kinda stuff then?"

Matteo (and the rest of Cliff's family) were all too aware of Elliott's situation. They'd found out the very bare bones basics about Elliott and Zan when they met Cal for the first time and with each consecutive meeting they'd found out more and more as Cal became more comfortable with them knowing. After Elliott showed up as a wedding guest, clearly not dead they were told how and why Elliott had shown up. Matteo knew that Elliott's impending trial was the giant storm on the horizon for Cal, Cliff and the others. Matteo wasn't too surprised that Fia had no real plans for life as a whole. "Yeah, fair enough, that's a massively complicated mess in all manner of ways- emotionally, politically, diplomatic relations-wise - from what I understand of it all. And you never really do know what life's gonna bring. For me it's a whole shitting pile of exams" he pulled a face, clearly not too enthralled by that thought "maybe even some extra ones as veterinary medicine and regular medicine need a shit tonne of exam points in order to actually get into the course."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay knew they couldn't just ignore what Chas saw in his mind over the recital of the poem/lullaby. She also knew it would be brought up at some point by someone how she was feeling over it all. She nodded at his words, knowing she really was the only one with any emotional attachment to her mother, which just made it so much harder on her in a way because she didn't have anyone who could properly get where she was coming from or her feelings. " mostly memories of her teaching me piano and the like. Trying to deal with my hyperactive ass and calling me her little Flamebird whilst chasing me round the house" she explained. "so nothing that is of any help for anything" she added.

Fia listened to Matteo's reply, nodding as she instantly got that they were well aware of Elliott's situation, glad that she didn't have to explain it all or pretend it wasn't as serious as it was. "tell me about it.. I'll be so glad when it's all over to be honest and he can come back to Earth with us." she replied. "I probably got more normal educational work to do at home as well that's I've no doubt put off for whatever reason. Or knowing me there's some kind of hunt that needs doing that will encourage me to sneak out the apartment" she smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John listened as Kay spoke, trying to reconcile these fragments of childhood memories with the woman beside him. It sounded from those few examples (and the other scraps of her very early childhood that she'd talked about) like they were happy times, that as a little kid, blissfully unaware of what was to come she was happy with life, and dare he say normal? Certainly her early childhood was closer to the typical picture of an early childhood than his own was. "Who knows at this stage? But those sound like happy memories, and your mother sounds like a good one." "Not that I'd know" was the unspoken part of that sentence. This was a time for talking about Kay's childhood, not instantly dragging down the mood with the various issues that stemmed from his unhappy childhood.

Matteo listened as she spoke, hearing the worry in her tone when she spoke for Elliott's predicament. Fia feeling like that wasn't a surprise to him, he could tell she was close to Elliott and their whole extended family group really did love and care about him. Matteo hadn't spent a whole load of time with Elliott, but what little time he had spent with him was enough for him to decided that Elliott was a solid guy. "Yeah, I'd probably going nuts if one of my siblings was in the situation" Matteo agreed, before adding a clarification on why he'd used his own siblings as his reference point for understanding. "I know he's not biologically related to you in any way, but the age gap is similar to me and Charlie so that's just the way I'm comparing it my life y'know."

He smirked at her comments about school, or more precisely what would be distracting her from her schooling. "And said the planning and executing of hunt will turn into a way of procrastinating other work no doubt?"

 

[MzHyde]

Her memories of her biological mother were happy, that much she couldn't deny in any way. Most of her more troubling and horrific childhood all began when Fira died. Even from what she could remember, when her mother was around, her relationship with her father wasn't terrible. "mm.. They are. She was an amazing person and I'm not just saying that because she's my mum. She was always helping the neighbours out when she could and always working. Even when she'd come back home tired, she'd make sure there was always food on the table and I was happy." she told him truthfully. Fira really was the type of woman who would help anyone, friend or stranger. "it just seems crazy to me now that I never questioned her pet name for me. I thought she was just came up with it because of my hair" she said smiling sheepishly.

Fia was worried about Elliott's situation and as a sister, not that Matteo would know that and he certainly couldn't know it either. She was close to him, just not in the way Matteo thought. She nodded at his words, guessing that he could only really get a sense of it all by putting himself and one of his siblings mentally in that situation to be able compare it. "right.. Of course. I know he's not biologically my family but I still see him as a bit of a big brother really. Like.. That big brother I never had kinda situation" she replied. She nodded at his next lot of words with a smirk, "something like that yeah. I'm notorious for putting more than one thing on my shoulders at a time which always makes Kay nag me to slow down" she chuckled.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John simply listened as Kay spoke, she didn't speak of her mother often and he couldn't blame her. Having somebody like her (kind, loving, helpful, warm and with your best interests at heart) and then loosing them was a heavy blow for anybody, but as a kid the blow was a million times worse. Parents were supposed to be an unshakeable foundation and a pillar of good examples in your life. "Yeah I can tell, don't need this bond to tell me how you feel about her." "Although it does help clear something up" he thought before speaking aloud again. "And besides, kids don't questions things the same way as adults, you just believe everything a parent says to you because they're a parent. They're supposed to be an example of what's right and what's the way to live your life. As a kid you don't view the world the same way as you do when your an adult. There was no way of knowing at that age when there is more to a nickname than meets the eye." John had a very different relationship with nicknames to Kay, where hers was positive his was a negative, a put down designed to make him feel worthless and evil (feelings which had carried through his life).

The dogs veered sharply to the left, heading along a barely there path, little more than a line of grass and shrubbery that was slightly more flattened down than the surrounding plants. It was an animal made path, Matteo had found rabbit droppings and goat hair along it, as well as the occasional wolf print. Matteo knew the path led down to the river (not the one with the rope swing, a different one)."I can see her point, but that's kind because that's my role in my group socially, reminding people not to do everything at once. I personally can concentrate on two things at once, maybe three at a maximum when it comes to balancing school stuff. Any more and I have to make up some kind of plan so each subject gets equal attention, I procrastinate on subjects I don't like by doing the ones I do, but I'm pretty sure everybody does that." He gave a shrug, ducking under a low hanging tree branch before resuming his train of thought.

"When it comes to keeping track of social shit like people's birthdays, families, drinks orders, I'm far better at keeping multiple threads at once. Except when there are cute guys around, my brain really just short circuits and forgets how basic things like walking and balance work." He shrugged in a half embarrassed manner, still not over falling down those steps. But hearing that Chris had also been oogling him helped him get over a good chunk of the embarrassment.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay didn't intend to remiminse as much as she was but when she started talking, all the words were just coming out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She had no idea if John truly gave a crap an out anything she was saying or if he was thinking anything she said was clearing anything up for him. She nodded at his first comment, smiling slightly at the mention of their bond. She listened to the rest of what he had to say, knowing deep down he was right. It didnt ever go amiss that their nicknames as kids were the polar opposites, like most of their characteristics. Despite what his given nickname was, she never saw him as evil or all bad, she saw there was more to him than just that. "yeah... I guess so." she replied. "I just.. I miss her ya know? Even now.. hearing that Chas got to see her? It stung so much because its all I've ever wanted in life.. To see her again when I know its not possible. Not in the normal sense anyway. " she commented, admitting what was going through her head and heart last night.

Fia saw the dogs veer off to a side path that seemed barely big enough for a person. She listened to what else Matteo had to say, finding it interesting that Matteo would agree and see Kay's point of view. She followed on, ducking under the low branch behind Matteo as she let him continue to talk, chuckling at his last statement. "I'm not actually bad at remembering those kinds of things. Birthdays and such are just engrained into my mind as deeply as spells are. Which just sounds crazy if I said that to anyone else" she chucked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Despite his outwards appearance and the ways he'd behaved in earlier emotional conversations John did actually care about what was going on in Kay's mind. He just wasn't good at articulating any of what was going on in his head or even empathising with people and their problems usually taking a stance of 'tough shit' (unless it was those in his inner circle of important people, for those select few, he'd try). He was a far better listener than he was a talker or explainer. But when it came to Kay confessing about how much she missed her mother and wished she could have seen her, even in a brief glimpse, that was something he could relate to. John never knew his mother and there had only been one time where he'd heard anything from her beyond the grave, and even then it had been a message passed on to him by Zed. He pulled her closer at those words before giving his own piece and in the process opening up a tiny crack in a part of himself. "Yeah, unfortunately I know exactly what every part of that is like. It's a void that can't be filled fully by anybody else, a sense of loss you carry with you your whole life, a question that can be never answered. And for it to be somebody else, somebody who can never understand the full significance that gets them after everything you've been through? Yeah, it hurts and it's not fair."

Matteo chuckled along with her, he liked spending time with Fia, she was an interesting girl and in some ways quite different to his other friends. He liked to think that if they were in the same school or had lived in the same star system for most of their lives they would have been firm friends. "Yup it would, though probably most of our lives would sound crazy if either of tried to explain them to somebody else. I know with my life a lot of people perceive me as like some kid from a backwards fishing planet" he shook his head in a mocking kind of pity"how wrong they are. And I can only guess from my knowledge of your home planet- which is jack shit by the way, feel free to correct and at the same time educate me if I've got this all wrong" He flashed her a grin on those words to show he really didn't mind being corrected and that he was genuinely curious. "That if you tried to explain even a tiny fraction of your true identity people would think you were making it up or something."

 

[MzHyde]

When John pulled her closer after her admittance of how much she missed her mum, she gripped onto him out of natural instinct. She listened to him carefully and intently at what he had to say about what she said, knowing that he would know what it felt like to miss someone who was always meant to be there for you. She nodded at his words feeling glad that he could get where she was coming from. "it makes me hope that we never have to let Fia feel this kind of pain..." she told John. "my mom was everything to me, when she went?" she started saying but had to pause to be able to find the right words. "well...you know what happened when she was gone... To an extent" she ended up saying.

Fia thought the same about Matteo, that he was incredibly fun and interesting. She wished she didn't have to go back to her timeline and find him seventeen years older than herself. If things were different she just knew in her heart that she could be good friends with him. She listened to what he was saying, smiling at his words and nodding. She smirked at him giving her the permission to correct and educate him if he was wrong. "thats true. And you're not far wrong to be honest. As I've briefly said before, on Earth they think anything that goes bump in the night is things of films or myths. That anything from ghosts to yours truly doesn't truly exist. Though to be honest with you, it's safer for the majority of the world to think that. If they truly knew the horrors of what most things were capable of, they would never sleep again." Fia explained to him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John could feel Kay clinging to him with a grip that was stronger than strictly necessary, this was upsetting her and it seemed that clinging to him might be some way of grounding herself? He didn't point out that in a way Fia had already experienced that pain when Kay was kidnapped in her timeline, nor did he point out that Rinaa was living proof of how fucked up a kid could be when they not only lost a parent before they were even born, but lost the majority of their family when they were alive. Framing it like that made him wonder if Rinaa ever felt like the whole world was against her and how closely her emotional journey through childhood would match his own. "Yeah, she really doesn't need to go through that kind of shit, it messes with your head." At the next part he nodded, the details he had between Kay's mothers death and her passing out in the alleyway at his feet were sparse and vague, but he knew they couldn't be forced either. "And I never had one... you've got an idea what that did to me... to an extent." He hadn't intended to almost perfectly copy Kay's words, but he couldn't think of a better way to put it.

Matteo listened with clear interest at everything he was saying, which seemed to be fitting with the cultural model of Earth that he had in his head. In his mind it was better for people to be oblivious of the world that lurked beneath and dismiss those who believed than to take the approach of the Attili officials who were all too aware that such things existed and openly persecuted and condemned them. "Yeah, I get what you mean, there are times when it is safer to live in ignorance. And once you see that world once, you can't get away from it really. It's like as a kid when I'd look at the stars and not understand how there were other people out there. But once you actually travel beyond the confines of what you know, be it in terms of belief or in terms of physically travelling there's no going back, everything is irreversibly changed. And there's two options, you can either accept the change or you can live in denial. I'd very much prefer the former. I'm lucky I guess that I've grown up in a culture and family that is open to all kinds of races and worlds like magic. As is Cliff, managing to find not one, but two cultures that don't treat her as a lesser person because she's deaf. You know she once broke the jaw of somebody who was giving her shit?"

 

[MzHyde]

It was exactly how John assumed it to be when it came to Kay gripping onto him. It was a way of her grounding herself whilst keeping control of her emotions. Not that it always worked but it worked enough times for her to have kept it as a habit. It also reminded her that she wasn't alone and she had support around her. She knew Fia had gone through an inkling of what it felt like to lose a parent,and so did Rinaa. But she also kept the positive in her head that was the fact that John went to the future and helped Fia stop that from happening. She didn't want Fia to feel it again and in a permanent manner, she just worded her opinion in such a way that seemed to dismiss that, which wasn't her intent. She nodded at both things he said, noting how he used the same wording as she did. "that I do" she replied. She would have gone into more detail about the part of her life she didn't fully know of, but it would have just brought the mood down so much more and she was enjoying her time with him without that. Her grip soon loosened and she just relaxed again.

Fia could tell that Matteo was genuinely interested in what she had to say, which was something of a breath of fresh air for her. It was nice to talk to someone her own age who was interested in her talking, which was something she would end up missing greatly when she left. She listened to him reply and nodded for what he had to say, she got where he was coming from and could see why he would prefer to accept the change, rather than living in ignorance and denial. "I'm the same as you. Mine and Kay's parents didnt tell me what I was until I was 9, and that because I accidentally set my bed on fire from a nightmare. They tried to hide the truth from me to protect me but obviously that didn't go well after that night" she told him. She was telling the truth, just twisting the story a little so not to say that John and Kay were her parents.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John certainly wasn't going to go into his childhood either, how ever much Kay's would drag the tone down, he felt that his would drag it down even more. He had definitely been a bit too open earlier when talking about how he knew what it was like to grow up without a mother. He hadn't intended to be so descriptive about the sense of loss that had followed him around his life and the jealousy that festered in him when he heard others talking about their mothers. His childhood would be a therapist's dream (in terms of how much money they'd earn from doing sessions) and simultaneously a therapist's nightmare (in terms of everything they'd have to talk him through). He could feel Kay slowly releasing him from her grip and took it as a good sign. "We're right mess aren't we." He smirked, very nearly laughing at just how depressing their lives had been and how the universe thought that shoved two fucked up people with childhood issues at each other would be the best way to restart a mythical race.

Matteo didn't mind being talking to others about their problems and life views. It came from having so many siblings he supposed, he was used to having people around who could talk to about anything, even if they were star systems away they would always make time for him. He sensed that Fia needed somebody to talk to, somebody with a neutral and outsider's perspective on her life. He could see that john and Kay clearly cared about her. He listened to the discovery story, finding it odd that the parents would tell Kay and not Fia. "I can't say I understand their motivations or thought process when they decided to keep it from you. I'm not qualified to talk about this, but put it this way? How would you rather they have told you? What is the right way, or at the very least the better way of telling a kid too young to properly understand the weight of this knowledge what they are?" The question wasn't phrased the most eloquently, but Fia had made it clear on the first day that he could say what he wanted and right now this was the question he wanted answered.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was actually really honoured in a strange manner that John felt he could open up just the tiniest amount to her. She would always keep that information to herself and never say it to another soul, which she hoped John would know by now that she would never break his trust on that. She was also glad that he did share his experience as it did help her more than he probably would realise. When he said they're both a right mess, she had to snigger and smirk at the comment. "we really are. It's actually quite laughable in some ways" she agreed, starting to chuckle at the whole thing.

Fia listened to Matteo as he gave his opinion on her story, something she really didn't mind him doing in the slightest. Sure, it would seem strange to him that Kay would know but she didn't at that age but in so many ways, they were very different at that age. She listened to his question and thought it was very valid, and she did remember giving him permission to ask anything he wanted, how he wanted to. "you make a valid point. I mean.. Don't get me wrong they kept it from Kay as well as a kid but the clues were there. But then, with our age gap? Things were different when Kay was a kid compared to me. As for how I would have preferred it? I couldn't say, for the longest time I wished they were just up front with me, eased me into the knowledge like they did after the accident happened. But now I kinda get why they took the road they did. I get they wanted me to try and have a normal childhood with normal memories. It's a terrifying world where I am. Nowadays we have to be so careful to stay safe. Demons are on the warpath wanting both myself and Kay." she told him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John started chuckling softly when Kay did, strangely relieved that she also could see the funny side in the whole thing. His affinity for gallows humour could be a curse sometimes and he had a habit of finding the most grim and inappropriate things hilarious. If somebody would be cracking a bad taste joke or sarcastic quip over a corpse it would be John Constantine. "What was the universe thinking?" He smirked before the laughter overcame him and he started laughed properly, his shoulders shaking with as the laughter rippled through them. "Out of everybody from this timeline we're the most fucked up and unsuited for whatever it is it wants us to do. yet here we are. Blooddddy Hells."

Had Fia said that he'd crossed a line, he would have apologised and changed the subject to something else before the conversation had the chance to become awkward. But she answered and he listened, his face showing that not only was he interested, he was thinking deeply about what she said. "Fair enough, it is an impossible question to answer really, and no matter what way they did it, there'd be flaws." He shrugged in a 'no method is perfect' kind of way, before gesturing at a part of the path liberal covered in loose rocks and spiky tree roots "watch out for the rocks and tree roots" he told her, nimbly hopping over them without a second though, his feet solid and sure, his whole body radiating the confidence of somebody who had done this many times before. "I can see why they'd want the normal childhood for you, cos once it's out, that's something you can never escape, especially with all the demons and whatnot after you. Maybe that was the plan, to slowly ease you into it, but they made the mistake of waiting until you were more mature. They had no way of knowing you'd show at nine. But nothing can change that's the way it happened, for better or for worse you have to live with that and own it."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay could always see the funny side in things that she probably shouldn't and she had gotten into trouble at times for laughing at inappropriate moments. She had to laugh at his next comment, knowing if she was anyone else, she could probably have taken offence to what he said. She felt his laughter run through his body as she laughed as well, thinking it was utterly ridiculous that the universe put them together, yet they genuinely did gel so perfectly together. "probably on crack at the time if it's even possible." she remarked. "yet I'm not complaining. We're both fucked up, but we both get each other. I'm glad I'm with you" she told him truthfully. "for a start you're a good shag" she teased.

Fia found Matteo easy to talk to when it came to this stuff, even if she want telling the full truth and only a twisted take on the truth. She did feel bad about half lying to him but she knew it was for the best. She listened to what he said, agreeing that it was an impossible situation for anyone with magical or half magical kids to be in. She made note of the loose rocks and tree roots, skipping over them easily enough and sure footed. She was too used to having to keep an eye out on her surroundings when on a heist or hunt so it wasn't a big deal for her. "yeah, it took my stubborn arse a long time to figure that out but I did eventually. I also can see now I'm older that when my abilities and bloodline unlocking in the middle of the night was just as freaky for them as it was me" she replied honestly. "I mean... Hearing a kid screaming from nightmares is a bit of panic under any normal circumstances, running into said kids room to see them screaming and crying and thrashing around in a burning bed is something else" she smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John snorted when Kay continued with the metaphor. "It'd definitely problem, drugs can always be worked in though crack's not strong enough, it's gotta be those weird designer drugs you find at dodgy Mediterranean beach resorts. Now those will mess you up faster an' better than anythin' else. Trust me I'm the expert." He flashed a grin, looking far too proud of the fact that he could actually talk about this with complete confidence that he was right. The next part came as more of a surprise to him, Kay had already professed that she was in love with him, but John was still sceptical. "Who knew fucked up people were good at actually understanding people's problems and emotional states?" He quipped rhetorically. The next part predictably made him smirk. "Yer not too bad yerself" he replied honestly.

Matteo was strangely relieved that Fia had come around to understand why her parents had done what they had. It couldn't have been an easy journey on either side. He just shook his head slightly at the last part, he couldn't even begin to imagine just how terrifying that must be to see or experience. Ice was one thing, but fire was far more destructive and unpredictable, especially when wielded by somebody who was scared and had no control over their newfound powers. "Yeah, that's gotta be pretty high up on the list of things no parent ever wants to see, even if they know it will happen at some point. Must have been terrifying for all involved." Since Fia had shared her powers first showing, he figured it was only fair that he also share a story.

"Cliff's powers on the other hand were totally unexpected, there's no history of elemental powers on either my father or mother's side. We don't know when exactly they started to show, the whole thing with salt water being far harder to freeze than freshwater means we're uncertain y'know. What we do know is that one day Benji, Cliff and Charlie were messing around together, typical sibling water fight. And then just out of nowhere her arms cover in ice almost like a set of gauntlets." He ran his hand up his forearm to indicate what he meant. "And then she just blasts them both with this wall of ice fragments, knocking them back underwater. And when they surface the gauntlets are gone, the ice has melted and there's no signs that anything ever happened. They didn't say anything to our parents, not believing what had happened, but once she accidentally fell asleep at the kitchen table and covered it with ice while sleeping it was official. There's a photo of that somewhere."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay always felt so proud of herself when she could make John snort with laughter. She listened to him go into detail about what she said, laughing that yes, of course John Constantine would know all of this. She noticed the smug grin on his face at knowing it so well, making her still laugh but roll her eyes. "of course you are" she told him playfully. She was also aware she surprised him with the next part of what she said but was used to him being surprised about such things. She also knew he was still skeptical about her actually loving him, but knew in time he'd know what she says was the truth. Even if it meant the bond having to tell him that. "and that we'd be living proof of that theory?" she smirked before chuckling more at his next quip. "I'm better than just 'not bad' and you know it mister!" she retorted smirking.

Fia nodded in agreement at what Matteo said as she walked with him and the dogs. She wished she could say she remembered both John and Kay's reactions to it but the fact she was still trapped inside her nightmare at the time when they first came in, she didn't know. She could only imagine how scared but prepared for it they both were, knowing what kind of people they were. She then listened to the story of how Cliff's powers and when they began to manifest in front of the lot of them bit by bit, finding it fascinating. She couldn't imagine how much of a shock the first experience would have been, only to find it happen again when she was asleep. "... Wow. I can imagine the shock and disbelief on Benji and Charlie's faces at the first experience." she replied.