Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

"Put it this way, if we aren't living proof of the theory then what are we? And more terrifyingly, if we aren't the proof of this theory, then who is? Who is out there that could possibly be more messed up than us, yet somehow manage to be a functional.... whatever this is." He waved a hand between them, unable to think of what exactly best described their relationship. It certainly wasn't a one night stand nor was it a friends with benefits situation, it was far deeper than that. Dating had never come into it and he never felt comfortable with the labels 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. In his mind partner either equalled to 'partner in crime' or a same-sex romance, not whatever this was. And they certainly weren't married. 'Bonded' made it sound like glue had been involved somewhere and was just plane stupid in his mind. He really couldn't think of anybody he'd met (bar maybe Rinaa) who came close to being as messed up, yet somehow functional as he was. He rolled his eyes at the next part "Sure, sure, keep tellin' yourself that." He retorted back.

Matteo nodded, he hadn't even been born when Cliff's powers began to manifest, so he only knew about it through the stories his parents and siblings had told him. "Yeah it was pretty scary from what I know, there was a good deal of freaking out on everybody's part, but my parents are rational people and figured out exactly what she was. From there they arranged for her to have lessons in how to control and manipulate her powers. Obviously I wasn't around for any of this, it's just all been stores for me, but I would genuinely love to just see the shock the very first time she blasted them."

"I can totally understand why your family would have freaked out about the powers manifesting in the way they did, fire is incredibly dangerous wielded by a person who has little or no control. But the same applies to ice, even though you wouldn't think it a first glance when confronted a wall of fire and wall of ice shards. It's a slower, more precise killer, a lurker, yet capable of doing just as much physical damage as fire. Ice is underestimated far too often, just like my sister I guess." He gave a proud smile, he genuinely loved Cliff and found the sheer diversity of her powers incredible. "There's just as many ways to kill with ice as there is with fire, which is what makes Cal and Cliff so extraordinarily badass.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened and smiled whilst nodding at his words, knowing he was right. She also understood why he could never figure out a label for what their relationship was. It was complex to say the least and not your normal 'guy and girl end up liking each other and start dating' situation. There were so many factors involved that made it greatly complicated. "we really should try to figure out what this is between us. At some point" she replied, before smirking at his next point, "if I wasn't pregnant I'd prove it to you. Mark my words, I'll prove it some day" she told him with a devious smile. She knew she had tricks she hadn't even had a chance to show him before she fell pregnant with Fia.

Fia continued to listen to what Matteo had to say, not surprised that it all came out before he was born and he only had stories for knowledge on it. She also knew ice was just as damaging as fire, in her eyes all elemental powers weren't something to be messed with casually and a force to be feared if you were on the receiving end of them. "ice is definitely the perfect power for Cliff, that's for sure. Not because she's ice cold in personality but because like you say, it's unpredictable and a force not to be reckoned with which is what I get from Cliff. I've seen her use her powers and it's truly incredible" she said to him, not giving away how or when she saw her use her abilities. "and yeah, it does make her and Cal all that more badass" she smiled.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John couldn't hold back from letting out a groan at Kay's comment on the fact that they really needed to define themselves at some point. He knew deep down it needed to be done, to finally sit (or lie) down and talk like the grown adults they were supposed to be, but if John could have his way he'd rather just keep on procrastinating it until the day he died. "Yeah, I know, I know. But it's definitely a job for another day" was all he said. He responded to Kay's devious smirk with one of his own. He couldn't deny that the idea of Kay proving her sexual prowess to him was extremely appealing (thought a lot of the time sex was an appealing idea to John anyway). Had the universe not decided that now was the ideal time for Kay to become pregnant he was damn certain they'd have been doing far more shagging since arriving on the island. "I'll look forwards to it then." He replied.

Matteo nodded at everything Fia said, agreeing with it completely. "I totally agree on that. As a general rule full elementals tend to embody the traits of their elements. No idea if this translates for phoenixes or not, but pyrokinetics are more hot-headed and rash and show more outwardly signs of being dangerous. I know Cal certainly was like that when she was younger, especially with teenage hormones. But cyrokinetics are different, they're more unassuming and quieter, but inside have this relentless drive that nothing can get in the way of. They don't give up and just keep going no matter what. Both Cal and Cliff are forces of nature, but Cliff is like a glacier I suppose, a patient, but in the long run unstoppable force. If she's one your side you won't go far wrong." The love for his sister was evident in his tone, as was the fondness for Cal. In Matteo's mind they were both amazing women in their own ways and perfectly matched in all regards.

"Trust me, the two of them fighting side by side will Blow. Your. Mind. I'm her brother and I'm still finding myself in shock and awe over what they can do with their combined powers. No offence, but you've only seen snippets of what they can truly do. I do find myself wondering what would happen if there was also an Earthshaker and an Airbender in their driadic bond. I have no doubt that they could bring down a planet. Their powers increase exponentially as the elements are added." With one hand he drew an exponential curve in the air to illustrate his point."With two it's twice the power of a solo, with three it's four times the power and with the full four it's sixteen times more powerful. I believe they could move whole planets with a full set. There's stories of course, about what the combined powers of four are capable of. And some even less reliable myths about what a group of all five could achieve." There was an edge of awe an reverence to his tone. While he himself didn't have powers, it was clear he had a healthy fear and respect for those who did.

 

[MzHyde]

The groan he let out did not go amiss on Kay, knowing he was dreading that time partly, but she knew, like him, it had to be done at some point. They couldn't keep going 'our... Thing' when it came to their relationship. She was also stubborn enough to not let him procrastinate over it for the rest of his life. She nodded, letting him have the last word on that topic this one time. With ha devious smirk matching hers on the other topic she chuckled, knowing if she wasn't pregnant she would definitely be shagging him constantly whenever they could have time alone. "you better" she smirked, kissing his cheek.

Fia continued to listen to what Matteo was saying, listening with great interest which showed on her face as he said she had seen nothing so far in the great scheme of things. She didn't doubt that what she saw of Cliff was just a taster of what she could be capable of. As the topic continued to about elementals in general she nodded, having read a lot about them in The House's library just for fun. Mostly because she was curious if there were others out like there similar to her when it came to element powers or not. Finding out there were blew her mind and just made her all the more intrigued, and that was before she met Cliff in her timeline. Shhe was always one who read books that weren't meant for her age bracket, reading books of mythology, and spells way before she was old enough to actually be reading them, but she understood everything she read. She even remembered at one point Sam called her the magical equivalent of Matilda because her love of books appeared so early on. Which shocked everyone as she for a long while she really struggled to read.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Oh I will, don't worry." John smirked, knowing that he'd have no problem looking forwards to finally getting some action. That might be the only advantage to the phoenix pregnancy length, that he didn't have to go for the full nine months without a shag. He stretched his arm out slightly so it wouldn't go dead. As comfortable as the position might have been for Kay, she was leaning on his arm, pinning it between her back and the headboard in such a way that he if he didn't move it he'd end up with a serious dead arm. "So long as you keep up your end." He added, a slight smile gracing his features when he felt Kay kiss his cheek.
Matteo had only known a life where Cliff had control over her abilities so he was naturally fascinated by the stories of the various mishaps she'd had while learning to control and manipulate her cryokinesis. Hence him reading all he could find on the topic. Matteo had idolised Cliff when he was younger, she just seemed so incredibly talented in so many areas, while managing to stay grounded, humble and made sure to always have time for her little brother. Part of their closeness was also due to the fact that for years Matteo was harbouring the secret belief that he too would have powers of some sort and that they would be as potent, if not more potent than his eldest sister's. But as the years progressed he realised and accepted that it wasn't going to happen.

By now they'd reached the river, it was a couple of metres wide with gently sloping banks and the water flowed sedately along (unlike the rushing white water rapids and waterfall of the other river). Judging by the various tracks in the soft mud there had been animals around recently. The dogs had already rushed over and were lapping up the water. Bending down by the tracks Matteo carefully touched them, running his fingers lightly around the edges at the basin. When he drew back his fingers they were slightly caked in mud, which he sniffed just out of interest. "The fox and rabbit tracks are at least a day old, but the deer ones, they're fresh. Couldn't have been more than two hours, but I'd place it closer to an hour, heading downriver it seems, which would fit as the better feeding grounds are there." He remarked, thinking out loud more than he was actually explaining for Fia's benefit.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked at his first reply, she shuffled slightly so to give him more room to move his arm so she could stretch it. He wasn't the only one who was looking forward to getting some action either, she too felt the need for that kind of attention even though she knew it wasn't possible until this pregnancy was over. She was also glad that not only it was proving it was going to be a lot shorter than even 6 months, due to her bloodline she healed up damn quickly. "oh I'll hold up my end alright. It'll be worth the wait that I promise" she smirked, noticing the smile that spread on his face when she kissed his cheek. She rested her head against his with a content happy smile on her face, before glancing down at her bump briefly.

Fia could tell that Matteo was in awe at his eldest sister, that he had so much admiration and respect for Cliff. It practically oozed out of his every pore when he spoke of her and it was something reminded her of how she felt towards Elliott when in her timeline. She would have shown it more here hut she knew she had to pretend he wasn't her half brother. She looked out at the river they reached and saw how the dogs instantly went out to it to lap it up for a drink. She watched on as Matteo squatted down at the tracks and inspected them with utter precision, whilst thinking out loud at what he had found. The whole sniffing the tracks didn't phase her as she was too used to seeing John put all kinds of shit in his mouth for various spells. Now some of those things did make her want to gag and look away, vowing she would never put anything gross in her mouth for the sake of a spell. "That's pretty impressive you can get all that from a set of tracks like that" she remarked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I'm gonna hold you ta that." John replied, effectively finishing that line of conversation. He noticed Kay looking down at the bump, but said nothing, having genuinely no idea what one should say in such circumstances, so he said nothing, just letting the moment wash over him. Some part of him was still wrestling with the fact that somewhere, growing within the bulge of Kay's womb was his child. Never mind the fact that a grown up teenage Fia was also here, he had a far easier time accepting that, the complexities of time travel somehow being easier to wrap his head around than the biological process of reproduction that had being going on for thousands of thousands of years.

Matteo looked up at her comment, slightly surprised, for him it was the most natural thing in the world. He'd been taught from a young age how to read tracks, first with the basics like what animal had made them and what direction they were going in and as he got older he learned more advanced tricks until he had become one of the best trackers in the family, potentially the best if his parents weren't included. While the others siblings were good, Matteo had a natural eye and knack for animal tracking, but his true advantage came from the hours he spent watching animals and the behaviours learning how they moved and then looking looking at the markings left behind after they had move on. "Really? Glad you think so. This is pretty easy stuff for me. But then again, this kind of hunting and tracking is the norm for me, having been doing it all my life. I am a game hunter after all. I also just really like animals and spend a lot of time out here just studying them."

He dipped his fingers in the water to wash away the mud before wiping them clean on the fabric of his shorts, then straightened up again. "Might as well head further up river, see if we can get lucky and catch up with the deer herd. Judging by the prints I'd say there's between five and seven."

 

[MzHyde]

When Kay looked down at her bump, it was to still acknowledge the fact that their teenage daughter from seventeen years in the future was in actual fact, growing inside her womb. It was some insane truth and fact that she still every now and then just baffled her completely. She didn't know what to say either, and remained silent before looking back up, her hand rubbing her bump side to side soothingly. It was only now dawning on her that she was getting hungry, a slight smirk appearing on her lips as she thought about it. "as much as I wanna stay in bed with you, I'm getting hungry" she said sheepishly, though it was more along the lines of 'we're getting hungry', meaning herself and baby Fia. She really didn't want to get out of bed but knew if she wanted food, then she would probably have to.

Fia nodded and smiled, she was genuinely impressed with his skills. Sure, she had her own hunting skills of knowing how to track demons and anything of the downworld, but when it came to normal animal tracking, it wasn't her fortay in the slightest. "yeah really. I can track demons and vamps and anything else that goes bump in the night but unless it's Max, I'm crap with animals" she told him before nodding at his suggestion of following the tracks up river to see if they can catch up with the deer. "sounds like a plan" she replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I'm getting hungry too actually, and we can't just stay locked up in The House all day." John replied. His stomach had been quietly rumbling for the past ten minutes or so. He was surprised that after such a spread last night he could still have an appetite in the morning. Like many other things in his life he put it down to The House having some kind of influence over his bodily functions when he was inside it. He knew that The House affected his sleeping patterns (and need for sleep), as well as his body clock, so was it really such a big leap to assume that The House could affect his metabolism. He eased himself out of bed, being careful not to knock Kay off balance as he did so then began to get dressed.

"Well I'm pretty sure I'd be shit tracking those kinds of things, so we each got our own strengths really." Matteo shrugged honestly before whistling for the dogs to follow them. The trail led them further upriver, Matteo stopping every so often to confer with the tracks and make sure they were still on the right path. The tracks were getting fresher and fresher, which confirmed that they were getting closer. The tracks were harder to follow across the rocky banks, but Matteo's keen eye picked up the small specks of mud and fallen hairs.They reached a narrow gap between two thorny bushes and Matteo suddenly stopped, a surprised look on his face. "Huh, that's odd" he muttered, crouching down and extracting a clump of fur from one of the briars, holding it up to the light. The fur was far longer than that of a deer, rough to the touch and a deep inky blue, almost pitch black colour. Rotating the hairs around revealed that one had a patch of silver colouring on it. He held it towards Fia. "It's not deer before you ask. I haven't seen this kind of fur before, it doesn't match anything I know." He spoke quietly, listening for any signs of movement other than them and the dogs in the forest.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded, refraining from whining like a child and saying 'but why not? It's comfortable here'. She leaned away from him so he could get up and out of bed, before shuffling to the edge of the bed with a grunt under her breath, putting her feet down on the floorboards. She rolled herself up off the bed and grabbed some clothes to put on consisting her yesterday clothes of jeans and lightweight hoodie. She leaned down with a slight grunt to try and get her footwear and sighed, as it was now reaching the point where it was getting very difficult to do such a simple task.

Fia smirked at Matteo's reply, knowing it definitely took a different level of skill to do what she did in comparison to what he did. She walked with him and the dogs further up river, following the tracks when Matteo saw something he didn't recognise. She took a look at the fur when he held it out toward her, taking it in her hands and inspecting it. "I know why you don't recognise it... It's not your average animal fur" she told him. The shade reminded her of Rinaa's hair but it was the highlights of silver that got her interest the most and the texture. "this is lycanthrope fur" she told him, now going on high alert herself, her body language changing from relaxed to rigid. "and I know of only one who has lycanthrope dna in them on this island" she said firmly. She looked around trying to work out if they were still around or not. She didn't fully go for a hidden blade that was in her jacket just yet, not wanting to get into a fight with Rinaa's wolf side but she also wanted to be prepared to protect herself, Matteo and the dogs.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John pulled on his clothes, picking up the shirt, tie and coat from where he'd left them the night before. He shoved the phone into his coat pocket, before feeling around in his pocket, a slight wrinkle of annoyance appearing in his forehead. With all the stuff the night before he'd never had a chance to ask Rinaa for the lighter back. "Kid's still got my lighter." He remarked, a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice. As he turned he could see that Kay was struggling to pick things up,another reminder at how disturbingly fast the pregnancy was progressing. His hands were engaged with looping his tie around so instead he used his foot (which was bare thankfully, or the next part would have been much harder), he wrapped his toes around the shoe, then used a similar motion to the one footballers used to chip up a ball, with the result that the shoe flipped up neatly onto the bed. He repeated the process with the other shoe before pulling his tie through and setting it at just the right angle.

The fur had Matteo baffled, he'd never seen anything with such a dark, rich colour before. The silver spot didn't surprise him, he presumed that whatever animal it was had some kind of silver markings mixed in among the main blue-black. Passing the fur to Fia for her to examine had been a long shot, he really didn't expect her to recognise it. He knew before she opened her mouth that whatever owned the fur wasn't a good thing. Her shift in body language told him everything he needed to know, his body already tensing as he checked that his pack was firmly secured on his back. "Let me guess" he replied in a way that made it clear he already knew the answer and was going to say it anyway."Artemis, or more precisely, the wolf inside that is killing her?" He brushed part of the long grasses to reveal a different track, a wolf paw print almost as big as his own hand with four distinct indents where the claws had pierced the ground.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay didn't notice his annoyance at first due to focusing on attempting to get herself sorted so she could go get some food. It was only when he spoke up that she looked up and could tell he was still annoyed. "I guess that'll be the first thing you'll be doing then, getting that back" she commented. She would also always help him out if he didn't have a lighter on him by lighting his cigarettes for him, even if it meant she quickly went away from the smoke in the afterwards. She then watched as he used his foot to flip up her sneakers onto the bed to make it easier for her to put them on. "thanks" she told him, grabbing them one at a time and putting one foot on the opposite knee to put her shoes on. "knew I kept you around for a reason" she teased.

Fia could tell that he didn't expect her to recognise the fur, so she felt slightly smug that she could prove him wrong and prove herself to be so much more than someone who could just fly around and soundproof an attic. When he guessed it was Rinaa, or as he knew her, Artemis, she nodded. "yeah, spot on. And her wolf side Sykes reaaaaally doesn't like me" she commented back at him, elongating the word 'really' to put emphasis on it. She let him brush the tall grass back to reveal the wolf print as big as his hand, making her remain on edge. "which means I'm gonna remain super on alert incase she's still around" she added, fully being prepared to getting into an altercation with Sykes just incase and under any kind circumstance.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Most definitely, I wouldn't say I keep that lighter for sentimental reasons, but after all the years, I've kinda gotten attached to it." He shrugged. The lighter wasn't just used for lighting up I'm uncultured. He'd enchanted it various time for all kinds of purposes- turning it into a spirit guide when he got roped in to finding Sara Lance's soul, using to ignite various sigil lines, using it as a distraction (and the source of a demon destroying explosion) when he and Kay first met, and also to light the petrol he'd sprayed over his childhood home and sleeping father in order to burn him alive. So despite what he said, there was actually sentimental reasons for wanting it back. "One of my lesser used talents, and one of the few footie tricks I actually remember. There's surprisingly little demand for me to chip up pregnant women's shoes y'know." He smirked, leaning against the wall, waiting for Kay to finish getting dressed.

"Yeah, unfortunately that fits with the little stuff out there about Astras wolves." He gave a guilty shrug, biting his lip slightly as he stood back up. "When Cliff told me what it was that caused those quite frankly horrific scars on her neck, I maaaay have stolen her laptop and done some research on the animal in question." He admitted, taking a few paces forwards in search of other prints, keeping his voice low, not that it would do them any good if the wolf was nearby, they had hearing far superior to that of him or Fia. "They don't like people, which given the ancestral memory of experimentation isn't too surprising and they really don't like fire, the reasons for that are unknown. You unfortunately are both of those things and add in the fact that Sykes is essentially a parasite feeding off Artemis' everything, it's not surprising that you two don't get along." Uncovering a few more prints, he gestured for Fia to come forwards. "Judging by her tracks and the herds tracks, she's been following the deer, and both have passed by here in the past few minutes."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smiled and nodded at his words, but she sensed there was more to it than just 'being attached to it'. She knew it was the same lighter he used when they first met, but not everything else. Yet she also knew even if he mentally admitted it had sentimental value, he wouldn't openly admit it to anyone anyway. She then just smirked as she let him comment on the other little talent of his, especially at the last remark. "well it might come in use a few more times" she smirked back, finally ready and standing up. She walked over toward him and the door to leave, her stomach rumbling slightly from the impending realisation that food was metaphorically calling them.

Fia gave him a roasted eyebrow at what he said next, not expecting him to know anything about what she was saying. So when he went on to explain how he knew of the term and such, it suddenly all made sense and pieces together making her smirk. "I'm impressed. You did exactly what I would have done in that situation. The amount of research I've done on things I shouldn't is uncountable" she replied quietly with a smug tone to her voice. "but yeah, I get why we don't get along all the time. It's also a lot more complicated than just that but that's one shithole not worth going down" she told him. She then went up to beside him, squatting down briefly to see the foot prints, nodding at Matteo's words about how they were only a few minutes old. She then stood up once more and looked up ahead of them, wondering what was going on and why Rinaa would let sykes out around here, before theorising if it was for purely for the hunt and food.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"So it would seem" he replied with a smirk. "Might finally get around to learning to do it properly with shoes on, it's a lot more miss than hit when I've got shoes on." There was a certain element of laziness that had caused John to evolve this particular skill. Usually when John didn't want to move from his spot and needed to get something form the table or floor. So he began using his bare feet as an extra grabbing limb and was surprisingly good at operating a TV remote with his feet. There was a very rare type of person who could do that and not look ridiculous in the process. He followed Kay out of the bedroom shutting the door behind him and making his way to the main door. He didn't even think to glance down into the library levels of The House, and so missed Chas seeing Chas who was, at that moment searching for reference texts.

"Meh, I've been breaking into my sibling's stuff for years. Don't tell Cliff I did that" He added, doubting she would do such a thing anyway."She'd probably kill me, something about blatantly disregarding doctor-patient confidentiality. And if a doctor goes to kill you can guarantee not only will it be meticulously planned and unbelievable painful, she'd probably a get away with it too. Especially if she roped in Charlie." He smirked slightly at his own joke."You know you've got amazing siblings when they'll help you hide and dispose of the body." While they'd been talking the dogs had been sniffing around the site and the river. They could tell from their owners body language was up and they'd known for quite a while now that there was a strange canine smell around, faint, but unmistakably there. At the exact same instance they stopped dead, raising their snouts to the air and cocking their heads, hearing something that Matteo couldn't no matter how hard he strained his ears. "What is it guys?" he asked, as if the dogs could tell him what was going on. A few seconds later the dogs had left the river and were practically pushing Matteo and Fia further up the banks and away from the river.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay found herself smirking and chuckling at his reply. She didn't doubt for a second that he would actually try to hone the skill with shoes on for the sheer hell of it. "I don't doubt that at all" she replied as they left the bedroom and headed down to the main door. She didn't think to look back either, and if she had she would have nudged John to alert him. She just assumed that like Fia, Chas would already out of The House, and be at the main house socialising with everyone who would be there. It did seem to be a logical thing to think due to the fact Chas was always there before they were ever since they came here. So she just headed across with John like every other morning.

"secret is safe with me. I won't tell her" Fia replied, knowing she wiuld never snitch on Matteo for things like that, or anything of the sort. She smirked at his next comments, nodding knowing that if anyone could get away with murder absolutely perfectly it would be a doctor of some sort. "so true."she simply said back at him, when she noticed how the dogs were being. It was clear to her that they picked up on hers and Matteo's body language change, as they seemed to switch it up themselves. She looked at them all when they stopped dead in their tracks and seemed to find something that herself or Matteo couldn't hear or see themselves. Next thing she knew, the three dogs were practically pushing them both further up the banks, to which she willingly went in the direction they were pushing them. She wondered what they heard, and she was fully prepared to protect not only herself and Matteo, but the dogs too.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John noticed that Chas wasn't outside in his usual spot on the porch, his usual spot in the hammock taken by one of Matteo's friends. In fact it seemed like everybody staying on the island had decided that sitting out on the porch was the way to go. The assassins were still at opposite ends, glaring (no surprise there) and the others on the porch were simply following Alex's advice of 'ignore the trained assassins, they can do this for hours'. The notable absences were Fia, Matteo, Chas and Rinaa. Seeing him making his way over Elliott pulled out a small object from his pocket and tossed it at John who plucked it out of the air one handed. It was of course, his lighter, which he turned over to inspect for damage (there was none) before putting it back into his rightful place. "Here! From Artemis, I was supposed to give this to you yesterday, but I kinda forgot." "No shit you forgot, but thanks, that's partially why I came over here." "The amazing food being the other?" Elliott smirked knowingly. "Yup." "No Chas then?" "I thought he was out here with you guys?" "Well I thought he was doing something with you guys in The House."

Matteo willingly let himself be pushed along by the dogs, scrambling up towards the treeline. After years of hunting with both these dogs and their precursors he knew he could always trust a dog's instincts on things like this. If they felt the need to get away from the river bank, then he wasn't going to question it. He didn't think it was going to come to a fight, not unless they got between the wolf and something it desired. The dogs and the resident wolves on the island had a policy of 'you stay out of my way and I'll stay away from you' and he suspected it would be much the same with an Astras wolf. But he couldn't be sure so as he crouched what the dogs had deemed a safe distance away, watching and waiting he carefully reached for the spear in his pack and the knife on his leg

It was then that he began hearing what the dogs had, the drumbeats of hooves as they hit the ground, the splash as they kicked up water and mud as they ran full pelt, trying to escape. It started off as a faint noise, just on the edge of his hearing, but quickly crescendoed to become a cacophony of noise as the herd neared the. There were other sounds to, the shrieks and squawks of birds as they launched themselves into the air to escape the oncoming threat. The herd were running along the river bank and came crashing through the spot where Fia and Matteo had once been, had they still been standing there, he was in no doubt that they would have been trampled to the ground.

As he had guessed earlier the herd consisted of seven animals, all fully grown adults, a mixture of male and female, with tawny coats speckled with darker browns and blacks for camouflage. There was no denying the beauty of the deer, the majesty of the way in which they ran. But the animal that was chasing them took his breath away. The wolf was far bigger than the hunting dogs crouching silently beside him, Rhys was the largest, but his head would just about come up to the shoulders of this beast. It's body was the same deep, inky colour as the fur they'd found earlier and it reminded Matteo of the colour of deep space, especially as her coat was flecked with small points of silver in a seemingly random pattern that reminded him of constellations. Underneath the fur were rippling muscles, expanding and contracting to power the wolf on at it's current explosive speed, it was fast gaining on the deer and Matteo knew deep down that she would succeed with the hunt. Despite being so large, the wolf remained sleek, streamlined and perfectly suited for running long distances after prey.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay had no intentions of interrupting the two assassins in the slightest. She too noticed Chas wasn't around which she found utterly strange and intriguing. Watching Elliott throw to John what she guessed to be his lighter, and proved to be correct when John caught it. She smirked at John's retort to Elliott's admittance of forgetting to give it back to him. She didn't think it was all that surprising that he would forget as so much went on yesterday to occupy their minds. She glanced around to see that Matteo and Fia were still out doing their dog walking duties that Fia told them about in the earlier text, but she found it curious that Rinaa was not around along with Chas. But Chas' absence was the most strange to her, especially when Elliott said he thought Chas was still in The House with them. "well that's strange then. I wonder where he is" she commented.

The moment they got to a safe distance and the dogs stopped nudging up and out of the way, Fia too squatted down to look through the small clearing, out of habit grabbing one blade she had in her homemade inside pocket. She watched on and started to hear the noises of hooves hitting the ground before she saw the deer running for their lives, whilst taking in the birds flying up and away and out of the trees when who she could only say was Sykes appeared. The wolf was so much larger than she initially thought they would be. She knew they'd be much larger than a normal wolf but seeing for herself the sheer size was still something to see. It still took her breath away ever so slightly, knowing that even Matteo's dogs were small in comparison to Sykes. "blooooody hells" she whispered.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Hearing that Chas hadn't been around surprised John, the cabbie was an early riser, potentially the earliest riser of them all. More importantly, he was consistent and had the most normal sleep schedule/routine out of all of them. But they were also on an island, he couldn't have gone far or gotten lost. "That's odd" was all he said, his eyebrows knitting together. "You sure he's not lurking around here somewhere?" He asked, aiming the question at Elliott. "Well usually he arrives a little after we" he indicated in the direction of jay "do. This morning there was no signs he'd been here and when he didn't show for the massive group coffee brew, we thought maybe there was something going on in The House or something. Or that maybe he'd just overslept, finally crashing out after all these late nights and weird stuff we've been through. If that's the case then I can't say I blame him." Elliott replied, now finding himself slightly worried.

Matteo just nodded at her words, finding himself rendered speechless. There was something incredibly beautiful about this particular wolf and the way she moved, it was almost ethereal in quality. Her running stride was utterly fluid, the fur rippling across her body as she ran, easily matching the deer for speed and sure footedness. At the same time there was an aura of wildness and danger emanated from Sykes, this was a free animal at the very top of the food chain and she knew it. Her eyes were barely visible, just amber slits in the black, her focus on the hindquarters of the deer in front, which were getting nearer and nearer by the millisecond.

And then she pounced, flying through the air and landing right on the back of the deer, silvery claws out, digging deep into the flesh. Unbalanced by the weight of the wolf, the deer crashed into the water, letting out a below of pain as it fell sideways, nearly dislodging the wolf in the process. But Sykes stayed on, wrestling for control in the river, forcing the deer underwater, avoiding the flailing the legs. Her claws scrabbling for purchase, ripping red stripes across the deer as she grappled with an animal larger than her. The deer got one good hit in, hitting Sykes in the midsection, but in the end it was futile. All it took was one vicious bite on the neck and the deer fell silent, it's throat ripped out, the heart following quickly afterwards, blood seeping into the water. The other deer had long since vanished, knowing that there was no way to their fallen comerade.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to Elliott and John talk about the whereabouts of Chas, thinking THAT Elliott and Jay's assumption that he would have laid in or similar was completely justified and something no doubt, herself and John would have thought if it was the other way round. She could also tell there was a pang of concern and worry in Elliott's voice. "should we go back to The House and just check on him? Just to make sure he's definitely okay" she asked, also worried about Chas.

Fia continued to watch on, unable to make anything words come out of her mouth other than what she said. The beauty of Sykes' movements were almost hypnotic to watch, Fia unable to turn her eyes away as she watched the wold leap into action and take down the deer relatively easily, even considering the small fight that appeared in the river, which seemed to give Sykes not too many issues. Seeing the deer die in front of her, Fia didn't even flinch. She knew this was just the circle of life so to speak, that this was what animals do but it also didn't go completely forgotten that Rinaa was in that wolf's mind as well as this went down. She had also seen some horrific things so not even when the heart of the deer came out and Sykes seeming to devour it, did Fia flinch.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John considered Kay's question. They were probably getting worked up about nothing, their paranoia that proved useful in their lives was backfiring and making them blow this situation completely out of proportion. If the cabbie was indeed asleep, then he really wouldn't appreciate being woken up by them for essentially no reason. But if something had happened, then John would never forgive himself if his mate ended up dead while on what was so far, a pretty decent wedding-holiday experience. It was the fact that Chas couldn't have gone far that helped John to make up his mind. If he'd gone for a walk around the island and gotten lost they could find him easily with the dogs. "I say he's fine. We eat first, see if he shows his face, then if he doesn't we check The House and find out what's going on."

Matteo had a similar mindset to Fia when it came to wild animals and death. He'd grown up surrounded by intricate and deadly battles between prey and predator, watching the food chain in action and this was far from the first time he'd seen a deer die in such a way. He was desensitised in a way, and he didn't flinch or show any signs of disgust or sadness. Every animal had their time and in the end, life on the island came down to survival of the fittest. This wolf and the way she hunted was incredible, there were elements that reminded him more of a wildcat than a wolf. It would usually take two or three wolves at least to bring down a deer this size, but the Astras wolf was no ordinary wolf- stronger, faster, larger and potentially more vicious than the typical wolf found on the island. The deer didn't stand a chance.

Now that the deer was dead it was a dead weight in the water, being pushed downstream by the current. Grabbing it firmly in her mouth Sykes swam with the body before dragging in up and onto the riverbank, the soil turned slightly red as the blood seeped into it. When she started eating it became clear to Matteo that she didn't eat like a normal wolf would, tearing of pieces of flesh at random. Sykes was methodical, going for the more high energy areas first, using her claws to cut open the deer's stomach. So far the dogs had been still and silent, just watching the proceedings, but at the sight of food something changed. The leader Koso was the first one to make a move, slinking down towards the riverbank and the kill. Matteo called the dogs name, cursing under his breath as the dog refused to listen. He himself didn't move forwards but tightened his grip of his weapon, praying nothing would go wrong. Koso stopped about two metres from the kill and gave a short bark, causing the wolf's head to snap around. Sykes regarded the dog with a piercing amber glare, looking it up and down, before inclining her head slightly in a 'come over here then' gesture that far more human than anything Matteo had seen any wolf do before.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay let John ponder the options of her suggestion. She knew out all of them, John knew Chas the best and would know what would be the best course of action to take. Hearing him say that they should eat first and see if Chas appears in that time, she nodded, thinking it was a good enough plan. "okay" she simply replied, hoping Chas would appear to stop them all worrying over him, but she was fully prepared to go looking for him if it came to it. She then started to walk inside the main house and head to the kitchen to get some breakfast, something she was still very much wanting badly at this point.

Fia continued to watch, her hand still very much firmly on her own blade. She knew if a fight broke out then chances are she'd end up worse off, but if it meant protecting her friend and the dogs, she'd gladly put herself in harms way to do so. Even if she risked possibly getting scolded by anyone and everyone for doing it. As Sykes dragged the corpse of the deer body onto the riverbank after swimming with its dead weight for a little bit, she watched on seeing how almost humanlike Sykes was tearing into the deer. When Koso started to slink off away from them and to the deer, she instinctively reached her hand out to try and stop him as Matteo called him to come back, but to no avail. What surprised her the most though, was that Sykes didn't attack Koso, but instead offered Koso a place at the corpse to join her for breakfast. Seeing that made Fia sigh with relief.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John followed Kay into the kitchen and began assembling his own breakfast, for once having something other than the leftovers in the fridge. There was a small tower of what looked like every mug in the house on the draining board, the casualties of the group coffee brew from earlier. They'd all been washed so John grabbed the top one for his own drink. With his breakfast made he made his way to where Elliott was, leaning on the free spot of porch near him. "Did I miss anything excitin'?" "Not really, those two are still glaring at each other" "no surprise there." John smirked "Which I actually got around to asking Alex about, he's a pretty cool dude by the way. Apparently this is a far too frequent event in his life and after a while you figure that shouting at the assassins will be more exciting than watching them go through the whole Mexican stand off again. Artemis has gone out for a hunt hence why she's not here, think's it'll help balance out her other half."

Matteo was also surprised that Sykes was willing to let Koso join. The normal wolves and dogs on the island tended to steer clear of one another. But, he supposed, Sykes was far from normal in almost all regards. Artemis knew the dogs and liked them which was surely playing a role. Astras wolves were also pack animals, and with the absence of any others, maybe she was tolerating the dogs because they were the closest thing around to her own pack? Sykes was the alpha in this arrangement, of that there was no doubt, which was why Koso had been playing the role of a more submissive dog, changing body language in respect of the new alpha. Seeing Koso's success the other two dogs followed, waiting for approval before joining in feasting. The dogs were concentrating on the limbs and neck while Sykes took the main torso and rump for herself. The dogs's eating approach was far less dignified than Sykes'."Y'know what, I think she likes the dogs." Matteo whispered.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay got herself some breakfast and grabbed herself a clean mug and poured herself some fruit juice into it that would be okay for her to have as she was still unsure about caffienated drinks she could drink. She could have put it in a glass but putting it in a mug just made her feel like she was still able to have normal adult drinks in the morning without actually doing so. With her breakfast put on a plate and her drink done, she walked back out to the porch with John and stood beside him and Elliott. She glanced at the two assassins as Elliott explained what had been going on so far in the morning. "makes sense. We know Fia is out with Matteo and the dogs thanks to her texting us this morning too" she replied.

Fia watched as the other two dogs went over when they felt it was okay to do so, and watched as they sought permission from Sykes before having at the carcus in front of them. She too wondered if it was a pack thing for Sykes letting the dogs share her food, along with the fact that Rinaa liked the three of them. She nodded at Matteo's words, agreeing with him having come to that same conclusion also. "I think you're right, I think she does too" she replied, putting her blade back inside her jacket. She stood up from her squatting position, mostly to stretch her legs as her knees were starting to throb from going numb. She was still unsure if it was a good idea to step out or not, down to being unsure how Sykes would react if she caught eyes with her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott nodded, then smirked slightly in amusement. "I know, Matteo was texting her earlier pretending to be Meyer the dog. He was asking us which text version sounded more like it would be written by a dog as well as asking for opinions on which picture of Meyer looked most like a selfie she'd have taken." John chuckled at that. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me too much." "It was pretty funny to watch and listen to, photographing a dog is harder than you think when said dog you want to photo keeps trying to look at the phone screen. He got there in the end, just had to crop the other guy out of the frame, which led to the predictable onslaught of jokes about cutting his boyfriend out of his life."

Matteo shifted his position crouching on the balls of his feet to a more comfortable seated one. Evidently Sykes had no intention of harming the dogs, so he felt that he could relax, he downed the final dregs of the coffee, which was just about warm and shoved the travel mug into a side pocket of his backpack. As he sat back he reached up a hand to rub his collarbone-shoulder area, in the process pushing back his t-shirt to reveal the much talked about hickey. The others hand't been joking when they said it was impressive. "And I have no doubt she knows we're here and snooping, whether through the fact that we always walk the dogs or that she can smell us here, or at the very least smell the coffee on us. So I think we're safe, if anything was going to be done, it would have been done by now."