Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

John really hadn't been expecting his question to turn up anything, out of all of them on the porch, only Cal, Cliff, Dan and Moya actually lived on Attil, the rest were from different star systems. So he was pleasantly surprised when Moya and Cliff said they had seen it elsewhere. The dates were the final piece of proof they needed that this was linked to Elliott, a movement of solidarity like Kay had been suggesting. For Elliott hearing all this come out was incredible, he'd had no idea this was happening or that this was even going on and it brought a glow of hope to him. Somebody out there had his back and believed in him. If there were artists out there willing to support him and what he was standing for on Attil, then surely there would be others willing to make some kind of stand? But it was Alex and his brother speaking up that caused the glow of hope to grow even more inside him. If this was stretching beyond Attil then he stood a chance, with growing galactic attention and the fact that he was older, smarter (and hopefully wiser), the trial he faced couldn't go the way of the last one.

"That's incredible." He murmured under his breath, completely taken aback. A couple of others said they might have seen the symbol, but couldn't be sure. "If you want I could do some digging on the forums, see if I can find anything else about this?" Chris asked to which Cal answered. "Definitely do that, if there is somebody out there backing my brother on this whole thing, then we need to find out more. This kind of movement on this kind of scale? It symbolises a major shift since when we were kids." "And if this is getting beyond Attil? There's hope for other planets who have a similar political ideology to Attil, it might help them too." "I think you're spot on with that theory Kay."

Being able to talk about what he knew and thought was helping Matteo greatly, the information had been weighing down on him and to be able to give his thoughts without fear of upsetting Rinaa or being judged. In a way Fia was helping to accept and deal with what she knew as well as offering up some other points and thoughts he wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise. "It really is, I'm really impressed at how she can actually talk about it and not fall to pieces every time it's mentioned. I didn't expect her to out herself like that at the wedding, telling a whole bunch of strangers you're as close to death as she is? That takes an incredible amount of guts to do. There's no doubt in my mind that she's incredibly strong, probably moreso than all of us." The conviction in Matteo's voice was obvious as he said that, he had been genuinely gobsmacked when Rinaa took the mic at the wedding, in that moment she managed to not only own the fact that she was dying, but work the whole crowd and deliver an incredibly heartfelt speech. "I hope that too, I hope she knows she's awesome as a person, all the stuff she's done in all the various areas of her life in such a short time is mind blowing.... And yeah, I might take you up on that."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay could see just how much all this news was taking Elliott by surprise and shock. It showed her that even people who didn't know Elliott personally knew he was wrongfully exiled all those years ago and was a good bloke. She gave him a reassuring and supportive hand on the shoulder as he tried to comprehend the news. She nodded at Chris' suggestion about looking online on the forums to dig around and found the artist's that were responsible along with anything else linked to it. It was honestly a great idea to do, as if they could get anymore help it would greatly increase their chances of getting Elliott the justice he deserved and come out of this very much alive. She looked at Chas when he said her theory was seemingly spot on and nodded with a smile. "if there's one thing I know, it's an artist's mindset on political pieces like this. There's a reason why a lot of protesters turn to art to make their stance and views more prominent" she commented.

Fia continued to let Matteo speak, sensing it was seeming to help him a lot to get his head around the facts and what he saw. "you're not the only one. Our whole group was shocked she was being so open about it. None of us expected her to be that brutally honest, especially with strangers around. She won't even play or sing in front of family, let alone the rest of the stuff" she explained. "Artemis is usually a very closed book. As in, closed and padlocked a hundred different ways" she added. "so to say the lot of us were gobsmacked over it is actually the understatement of the century".

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cliff could see how much finding out about this art movement meant to her wife, brother-in-law and the whole extended Earth group. It was incredible in her mind that somebody, all these years later could recognise the injustice of the whole event. In Cal's city the event had been covered up, though the job was botched- far too many people saw what happened and it clearly lingered in people's minds if Moya remembered it and she was only a kid at the time. They were clearly on the verge of something great here. Both Alex and Chris nodded at what Kay said. "I know what you mean, I do some political art myself, kind of a similar style to this, spray paint graffiti that appears seemingly overnight. It was Alex who got me into it actually, though we usually veer towards LGBT+ rights stuff and alien equality as they're more close to home, but now that I've found this and actually had the privilege to meet the people it affects, I have a new project for when I get back home." Chris said, knowing that John's group would have no idea that he dabbled in street art. "If you did that Chris, it would be amazing." "I know some people, other artists who'd be willing to spread the word further." "I have contacts, not just near Attil, but across the various star system who would be willing to get involved too." Jay spoke up for the first time in a long while since seeing the photos of the art, just as gobsmacked as everybody else at the outpouring of support behind it.

Matteo remembered the looks of shock, surprise, awe (and in the case of Jay and Elliott- pride) on the faces of John's group vividly from the night of the wedding, knowing that his face and the faces of his friends were showing similar emotions. It was one thing to say something like that to a group of people your own age who you'd be spending a decent bit of time with in the next few days, but with most of the wedding guests she wouldn't them again ever, many were complete strangers, Rinaa had never met them in her timeline. "Yeah, she is a private person, you're analogy isn't an exaggeration when it comes to certain things. I saw your faces when she took to the stage, none of you saw that coming, and in a way, neither did we. Persuading her to sing at the wedding was something we didn't really expect to work, and I don't think she'd have done it if she wasn't already buzzed with alcohol. And I doubt we'd have been so persistent if it wasn't for the alcohol either. Her parting words were something like 'I'm definitely drunk if I'm agreeing to this'. We wouldn't have encouraged her had she not mention that she sings solo and with a band back at her home, as their frontwoman I believe. Maybe performing in front of strangers brings out that side in her? It's certainly a rush for me, but she clearly loves it. You should have seen the look in her eyes when she came off the stage, they seemed to burn with indescribable passion."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay looked at Chris and Alex as she noticed them nod in agreement at what she said. She listened to what Alex said and smiling a bit at what he said, nodding admiring him for his subject choice and having the courage to do it. Her art has never been political in the slightest and always either real life or fantasy. Hearing that Chris was now actually inspired to go down the other political stance and do something similar to these pieces they were seeing himself. "when I soiration strikes, follow it. That's what I've always said" she agreed with Cliff, whilst speaking to Chris. She looked at Jay as she finally spoke up, not being surprised that she knew of people who would gladly help them out in any way possible.

Hearing that all their reactions were noticed by other people didn't come too much of a shock to Fia. There was so many people at the wedding that it was obvious someone would have noticed that none of them expected her to say such things or even sing publicly. She smirked and half chuckled at him saying about how she decided she must have been suitably drunk to have agreed to such a thing. "the passion in her eyes isn't all that surprising to be honest. That's where the two of us are very much the same. Music and performing means everything to both of us and always ignites this passion inside of us. Not that I think she would admit we're the same on that or anything"she smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The brother's nodded again at Kay's words. "Art sometimes speaks louder than words, hence why every great process always has a singer." Alex smirked at his brother who rolled his eyes at the long running joke. "Never gonna live that one down it seems." Chris sighed. After Jay's declaration that she knew people who could help spread it, the others began offering to spread the words via their own friends, contacts and colleagues, which Elliott, Cal, Cliff and John all encouraged and thanked them in advance for. The other assassin offered to spread the word to people she knew, though chances were they were mostly the same as Jay's. Elliott leaned back against the porch railings and sighed, still shocked by the whole events. "Well that was crazy, I had no idea there were so many out there willing to be behind me." "I never doubted there were others, but the sheer numbers are something else entirely." "You're worth believin' in Ell, it's that simple." John shrugged, putting an arm around Elliott's shoulder affectionately.

Matteo knew the feeling of passion and thrill that music brought to those who genuinely loved it, he himself was one of those people after all. Music was something he really enjoyed, being the only one of the five who possessed any talent singing wise. For him music offered a way to relax and focus on something other than everyday life, as well as giving him a chance to show off and work a crowd. At the last part of Fia's comments he shook his head slightly, an amused look on his face. "Pretty sure she knows you two have more in common than either of you would like to say or, in some cases acknowledge. It's the whole 'being compared to somebody just because they are the same age as you' thing, along with 'second best syndrome' that's the problem. I'm basing this off the triplets experience by the way, they had a lot of shit like that in their lives, always being compared to each other by family, hence why a good chunk of their teenage years was spent at each other's throats and trying to be as different to each other as possible. I got lucky really since me and my siblings have such massive age gaps between us, we don't get compared to each other."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay definitely agreed with the comment about art. She always found using art to express how she was feeling about something was so much easier than actually talking about it, more so when she was younger than now. She smiled seeing Elliott still trying to wrap his head around everuthing, especially as even Moya knew of it and she was still so young at the time of the original trial. She nodded in agreement at what Chas and John said to him, also believing in those statements wholeheartedly. "they're right, with everything" she simply told Elliott patting his other shoulder that she had previously held. "this all shows us and more importantly you there is hope we can win this and you can get the closure you so desperately deserve" she told him.

Fia felt she shouldn't be surprised that people think they had a lot more in common than her and Rinaa would care to admit, but for some reason she partially was. She continued to listen to him and felt it was eerily accurate to herself and Rinaa. They did always compare themselves to each other, whether they were aware of doing it or not. Not to mention they both thought of each other in the other's shadow. She wouldn't ever admit it but deep deep down, there was a part of her that was jealous of Rinaa's mechanical mind and intelligence, jealous of her circle of friends and being able to do what she wants when she wants. She did at times feel like she was having to prove herself as just as intelligent albeit in different subjects, as Rinaa was. It felt worse because she didn't ever feel like this with her Leah. She felt like Leah's equal, but with Rinaa she felt like the kid who had no right to be around her family. "you are scarily on the money with that observation" she told him, looking ahead of them and not at Matteo.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Feeling John's arm around him brought a sense of comfort and grounding to Elliott. He was the kind of person who would never quite grow out of needing and appreciating a hug from the only parental figure in his life. He relaxed into John's side, listening to what the other's said about the whole thing, nodding in agreement and giving his own opinions, his voice becoming more passionate and determined as he went on. "Finding out this, it's definitely brought me hope, hope that things will work out, for me and for all of us. Not that I didn't have hope before, I wouldn't have done all this, dragged me and all of you guys through this if I thought it was a suicide mission. But seeing this crazy level of backing from people I probably haven't met and never will, it's something else. And in the end this isn't just about me, I may have unintentionally become the face of this whole thing, but this is a far bigger issue than some kid who got exiled from his planet for daring to be himself. I'm not the only one out there with such a story, and in a way got lucky, I got found, so many others didn't even get a second chance. This issue isn't unique to Attil and there's some planets where it's even worse. So if me doing this sets something in movement on such a cosmic scale then it's worth it."

It was a well cemented fact by now that Rinaa had spent most of her life either being compared or comparing herself to Fia and it was one of the reasons she was the way she was. In her life the Fia she knew had been portrayed as the perfect person, an incredible mage, a loving daughter with two parents who would do anything for her, an incredible ancestral heritage that she was slowly growing into and thriving in, a natural musician who also had brains and beauty. Rinaa however had always been 'the other kid' in her timeline, the kid that nobody really wanted around, the second choice and second best for anything, a strange combination of assassin, pilot and engineer, not just mechanically minded but intelligent in a way that had her branded as 'too smart for her own good', always long limbed and lanky with awkward hair no matter what age, the one who could never live up the legacy Elliott left behind no matter what she said or did, a shadow of the person her father had been, too much like Jay for people to actually like her. Being told all this all her life had had irreversible effects on the way she acted, spoke and perceived herself. Anything Rinaa wanted in her life she had to fight for, dragging herself through what felt like every obstacle life had to offer. She was jealous and bitter of her own timeline's Fia, and those feelings transferred to a lesser extent to this version of Fia, who she had realised was very different, But it didn't change the fact that there were still things that made Rinaa feel jealous (having both parents, having the confidence just to be herself and outgoing with anybody easily slotting into the new family, the way she seemed to be able to do things perfectly (like wear full armour) without practising for years and just the way she was clearly the pleasant, happy, independent kid they wanted around). Leah still felt sometimes like she was second best in some aspects of their lives, but to nowhere near the extent Rinaa did.

Matteo could see that his words were more accurate and on the money than Fia was comfortable with. "I was kinda shooting my mouth off a bit theorising, I get like that sometimes and unlike Cliff, I'm not usually right."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to what Elliot was saying, hearing how much more confident he was sounding as he went on with his words. She let her hand drop from his shoulder when he leaned into John, knowing he was appreciating and needing his dad right in this moment. "there is nothing else that any o fus can say that will top what you just said Ell. You've nailed it perfectly." she smiled, not knowing what else she could possibly say to him.

If Fia knew the full extent of Rinaa's jealousy she'd have said to her just how jealous of her she was back, and explained that she wasn't this seemingly perfect teenager Rinaa thought of her as. She proved that to even John when she was on Matteo's family roof crying greatly and huddled into John like she was about to lose everything. She had a whole different side to her that she never let anyone see if she could help it. "this time you're right. Scarily so" she replied to him. "I wish you were wrong, I really do. I wish we weren't always comparing or being compared to each other but that's just life I guess. Our group and family is ridiculously complicated. More complicated than I could ever explain." she told him whilst being careful with her words. She wished she could say to him 'we're from two different timeline's, here for different reasons. It's slightly toxic between us because she knows a much more evil version of me and that's why she's the way she is with me. But that attitude is dragging me down. I'm not kay's kod sister, I'm her daughter whose she's pregnant with currenrly. Rinaa is Jay and Elliott's kid... ' but she knew she couldn't and it was only really now that it was getting difficult to keep it all in.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was at times like this that John had to mentally step back and just take in how amazing a person Elliott had grown up to be. He was articulate, passionate, determined and so much more. Elliott was somebody that John fell honoured to know and he as he'd confessed to Chas on numerous occasions and Kay recently, he was still shocked that somebody who'd been raised by him could turn out like Elliott did. He squeezed Elliott's shoulder once he finished his little speech, feeling so proud of the amazing man next to him. Kay was right, there was nothing anybody could say to top what he had just said."Once again you prove not only do you have the brains, but you can give an awesome speech too. This is gonna work, even if we're not quite sure what 'this' is yet." "Which in John speak means 'I'm proud of you'." Chas added. "Yeah, I know." Elliott replied, having figured out how translate from John's gruff words to 'normal' English when it came to praise. "And on the other hand, we solved a mystery we didn't know we need to solve."Elliott added with a smirk, deliberately leaving out how Chas' drawings had created quite a few more.

Rinaa would it extremely difficult to comprehend why anybody would be jealous of the fucked up person she was. The dynamic vigilante and scientist who spent far too much of her time working and running operations quoting movies, making jokes and finding innuendos that weren't there, she could understand why somebody would be jealous of that girl. Or being jealous of the musician who was the life, soul and front woman of bands an open mic nights wowing audiences with shows of passionate singing and breakdancing, that was understandable too. But the depressed, suicidal, self hating, self doubting, closed off, bitchy teenager she usually was? Anybody jealous of that girl was a messed up as she was. Rinaa showed her broken side more outwardly than Fia did, but there was a whole volume of hurt, anger, pain and sadness that next to nobody saw.

Matteo listened as Fia spoke, hoping that just being a friendly ear would help somehow. He couldn't claim to understand the dynamics of Fia's family group, anybody with working eyes could see that it was complicated and nowhere near perfect and accepting. "Unfortunately that is just the way. People need validation that their kid is growing up well and like the others, so they compare and don't know the damage it causes. It shouldn't be like that, it really shouldn't, but that's not a thing that's gonna change really. I wont claim to understand your complex extended family, that is really none of my business, but they do care and really just want you guys to be happy, but are probably going about it the wrong way."

 

[MzHyde]

Even Kay could tell that what John said next was his way of saying he was proud of him. She may not have known him for as long as Chas and Elliott but even she could read between the lines at this stage. "Life is certainly funny like that sometimes" she commented. Sure, they still had some of the other bits of Chas' drawings to solve the mystery of, but for now solving one of them was Co aisered a small victory in her eyes. It made a pleasant change to solve something rather than have nothing but questions on other things and no answers whatsoever.

Fia didn't envy the broken shell of Rinaa, she envied everything she had accomplished in spite of all that she was feeling mentally. She had strength that Fia was certain she didn't have, even if it may not be fully true. She may be strong physically but she didn't think she was that strong mentally, convinced that if she was going through half of what Rinaa was, she would have given up a long long time ago. She let what she said sink in with Matteo before hearing him out and just simply nodding. She k ew the lats bit was right and her family did just want both of the girls happy, no matter what. "yeah... I know" she replied with a sigh.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I'll take solving just one mystery today, it's better than we've been doing most of these days." John shrugged. "True, true life is weird, but in this case, I'm not complaining." Chas added already feeling much better about the day as a whole. The sleepwalking and sleepdrawing had really thrown him, he'd never done anything like that before in his life, and his first thought was that it was some kind of practical joke that he wasn't getting. solving the graffiti mystery may have lead to more questions, but these were ones that seemed to be answerable. He folded back up the drawings, putting them in his pocket for now.

By now Fia and Matteo were almost completely out of the woods, the house and the many people on the porch were now visible to them. Matteo gave a slight laugh, gesturing at them "looks like everybody staying here has decided the porch is the place to be" he remarked. Drawing closer to the porch he waved over at the others before calling out "Hey guys! Have you lot decided on a time to leave or are you just waiting for my family to adopt you?" "The second option sounds great to be honest, this place is amazing" Saf called over cheekily"but yes, we'll all have to leave in about three hours if we want to get the connection back to school. Are you coming back with us or getting another day out of it?" Matteo boarded at his school for the weekdays, spending his weekends at home or occasionally over at one of his friends. "I'll be going to see you off, but I won't be heading back until tomorrow, I'll be seeing Cliff, Cal and co off in the morning then making my way back to our dorms."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay agree that solving one mystery was enough for the day. It had barely started and already numerous things had cropped up that had clearly unnerved or confused one of their group at least. Seeing that Chas was feeling a little more optimistic toward the day did make Kay feel less worried about him also, knowing that if he could get passed the initial concerned feelings, then the rest of them didn't have to worry themselves too much.

Fia walked out of the woods with Matteo and the dogs and saw everyone on the porch, she chuckled at the sight nodding in agreement, "so it seems" she replied, her tone a lot more cheerful than when they had their previous more somber conversation. As they got closer, she waved at her own family as Matteo called out to his friends. She listened to what was being said, and seemed to remember something coming into conversation at some point during this visit about Matteo boarding at his school. She gave him a pat on the back to remind him she's there if he needs a chat ever and that she'll catch up with him in a bit, before heading over to her own family.

"morning" shhe greeted, noting the ink on both of Chas' hands but said nothing, however she did find it curious. "morning kiddo, good walk with the dogs?" Kay asked, making Fia just nod with a reply of 'uh huh' in response. The reply made Kay raise an eyebrow as Fia was usually more chatty than that when it came to the walks. "you sure?" she asked again, not being able to help but pry. "yeah, seriously. It was good, it always is with the dogs. We just didn't expect to bump into Sykes whilst we were out there in the woods" Fia replied, knowing she wouldn't stop getting drilled until she said something.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others waved back at Fia as she made her way over to them. Chas said nothing about his sleepwalking/sleepdrawing incident, not because he was trying to keep it from Fia but because the conversation was heading in a different direction. They might as well put the drawings past Fia, and the graffiti piece too to see if they meant anything to her at some point later. But unless she explicitly asked questions about the ink (which he noticed was still on his hands) or his slightly dishevelled appearance, he wouldn't say anything just yet. "Morning" "Morning" "Mornin' kid."

Kay wasn't the only one to notice that Fia was more subdued than usual. When she mentioned she met Sykes Elliott sighed in understanding. "Ah yes, that would do it. I had the pleasure earlier this morning, a real piece of work that one." He shook his head sadly, knowing that it couldn't have ended well between Sykes and Fia, given how rocky it had been between him and the wolf, somebody he knew Rinaa actually liked. Seeing the other's looks of interest and curiosity he gave a bit of context. "It's part of their agreement, apparently the wolf side goes mental if they go too long without a shift, and the last time she fully changed was back with Jay and that bounty hunter weeks ago. So they agreed that here would be better than Attil. I don't think the wolf likes me, actually, I don't think she likes people full stop. So much of what she says is either borderline insult or vaguely hinting that she knows something you don't accompanied by this arms crossed defensive posture and that disconcerting amber eyed glare. Good thing jay wasn't around, pretty sure she'd have knocked Syke's block off, regardless of the fact that it would damage Rinaa's body."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia looked at Elliott when he suddenly understood why her mood was positive but subdued compared to normal, and it honestly surprised her that he had that 'pleasure' of meeting Sykes properly this morning before she did. She didn't think Sykes would have such a bad reaction to Elliott, even after what came out of that so called conversation between herself and the wolf. She listened to Elliott explain seeing as the others were just as obviously curious as she was. "yeah.. She had a few choice words to say to me as well, including in English so Matteo couldn't understand what was said. I agree with the assumption she doesn't seem to like anyone except for Rinaa's friends." she replied back. "one thing was clear though that she was baiting me to start an argument. I didn't fall for it and actually defended Rinaa's choices but that wasn't enough for Sykes. Told me that Rinaa is far more of a person than any of us would know. That her friends derserve better than being left behind just to see you Ell, Yada Yada yada" she gave a brief explanation of what was said.

If she was brutally honest it was what she said about Elliott that pissed her off the most. Just like in her timeline, she was highly defensive of Elliott and would jump into danger gladly to protect him, even if she was the 'baby sister' she had the heart and determination of an older sibling when it came to him. "when she ran off, both myself and Matteo agreed she was being an utter bitch. Took Matteo a long time to comprehend what he witnessed with the whole shifting thing" she then added with a shrug. Kay listened to everything Fia was telling them, and she was honestly proud of her for not falling for the bait and starting a fight with the wolf. She could also tell from her tone that what was said about Elliott seemed to really annoy Fia, which in a strange way she found endearing and just how much she truly admired him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott had only met Sykes because he'd been up to look at the dawn sunrise. Hearing somebody jump of the nearby boat he turned around to take a look and saw who he thought was Rinaa and called out to her. At which point the wolf turned around revealing the amber eyes and said 'I'm not her'. From there the conversation didn't really improve, especially after Elliott found out that Rinaa couldn't hear any of what was being said between them. Sykes spoke to him in what he would learn was her trademark style (borderline insulting manner and curt), swinging back and forth between civil and triggered. It wasn't an enjoyable conversation and eft him feeling frustrated and annoyed.

The more that was said about the wolf, the less that John liked her, she was the cause of so much of the mess Rinaa was in in the first place, yet seemed to be remorseless and blaming everybody but herself for the situation. If anything the wolf was still making things worse, affecting the other teenager's mindset, taking control of the shared body to lash out and being generally unpleasant. "Bitch is an understatement, all this wolf is doing is making things worse and who knows how much of all the shit's that been going on between you since you arrived has actually been Artemis' own actions. It's like this wolf is trying to drive a wedge between us and her and let's face it, she's succeeding at that." He said darkly, his dislike for Sykes filling his voice.

"I have to agree with both of you, this wolf wants a fight. I got that feeling too talking to her as well. No surprise Matteo was shaken by it, she's not typical for any canine persona I've encountered. She knows just what to say to irritate you. I also got the whole bitter and angry 'Artemis shouldn't have come back here' vibes from her but more from the point of view of all it's doing is showing the kid how shit her life is back there and how much of a fucked up person she is compared to what we all want her to be. Being here is apparently just and I quote 'one great big show in what could and should have been'. She also mentioned homesickness, but I don't know if there's anything to that or if she's just trying to guilt trip m." Elliott sighed, giving a bit more detail about what had been discussed between him and the wolf.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay both nodded at John's comments, agreeing wholeheartedly at what he was saying. Fia wished he wasn't right but she knew it wouldn't matter how kuch she wished for that, it wouldn't ever become true because nothing could change the fact that the wolf was a problem for them all, whether they'd admit it or not. Both her and Kay could also hear the dislike in John's tone towards Sykes, which neither blamed him for having as it was the same for the both of them. They then continued to listen to what Elliott had to say, nodding every few words he spoke to sjoe their agreement.

Fia sighed at what Elliott was continuing to say, finding it was sounding very familiar and similar to what Sykes told her. "I'm sure homesickness came into it with me too at some point, or along those lines without mentioning it. I definitely get the guilt tripping vibe from her and she definitely wanted to try and coax me into a fight as she made a conscious effort to say her last spiel in English so only I knew what she was saying. Almost like if it worked, she could try and spin it that I gave her an unprovoked attack which wouldn't have been the case, but would have looked bad on me in front of Matteo."she explained. She also got the feeling Sykes was trying to do such a thing to make Matteo think ill of her, knowing that Rinaa got on with him. She didn't say as such but she felt like what she did say conveyed a similar thought process.

"sounds to me she doesn't want you having any kind of friendship to really drive you away from anyone who befriends you" Kay theorised, thinking over what Fia was saying. She really wouldn't put passed Sykes to go that far as she seemingly is refusing to see this Fia as a different person to the other timeline Fia.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott had been sure that homesickness was some kind of lie designed to make him feel bad, but hearing Fia say it was mentioned to her as well made him revise that view and suspect there might be some kind of substance to it. He couldn't deny the truth in what John said about Sykes' actions, there was no doubt in his mind that they were meant to cause division and turmoil. The other point John made was more worrying, up until now they had no idea who was saying what when it came to anything that came out of Rinaa's mouth. The teenager had managed to keep just how far advanced the wolf was from them all this time and once again just let them assume the worst about her, a habit of hers Elliott desperately wished he could change. "If she is homesick, what are the chances she'd even tell us, given how little she talks about any emotion or problem she's going through?" "Next to none, and I thought I was the one who didn't talk about this kind of shit." John replied darkly.

Chas could see the merit in Fia and Kay's theories, but he also had one of his own that went down a completely different mental alleyway. "While I'm not denying that could be the case, I have a different theory. All the people her wolf self goes ballistic at have one thing in common, in one way or another they failed Rinaa in her timeline. Elliott died, that version's Fia and Kay have done who knows what outside of psychological abuse to her." As he spoke he made sure not to let slip what he had been told by Fia about how it was either alternnte Kay or alternate Fia who'd tried to kill Rinaa. "Neither John nor I were there for her properly. And then if you look at the people I've never seen the wolf lash out at or badmouth- Cal, Cliff, any of Cliff's siblings, Deke, Jay, Rinaa's friends back home, A.J's crew and Moya. All people who seemed to either have played some role in bringing her up or been there through thick and thin. In some twisted way I think Sykes is trying to get back at those who hurt Rinaa, in the only way she can since killing us is firmly off the cards that leaves language as her weapon of choice."

 

[MzHyde]

As dark as it was to think, Kay and Fia couldn't help but think John had well and truly met his match when it came to being closed off with feelings and emotions and talking about them. Both girls looked at Chas when he spoke up giving them all another route of theories to think about. They listened to what he said, taking in the words intently to make sure they heard and understood everything rightly, to get where he was coming from. They did get where he was coming from and nodded briefly at it all. Fia noted how Chas kept the secret of what she told him about how it was Rinaa's version of herself or Kay who tried to kill her, something she was well and truly thankful for. She knew the others wouldn't look at her or Kay any differently, but there was still that slight bit of anxiety that they would see them differently, despite knowing neither of them are anywhere near that way inclined.

"you make a valid and good point. I think both theories could in fact blend together. The fact Sykes is using words to get to all of us, particularly Fia, shows me to that's her game plan. We've all seen how her words can affect Fia, and how if she really pushed the right or wrong buttons, depending on what way you wanna look at it, I do fear sadly it will separate Fia from the group. So what's to stop her using language to try and divide all of us from Rinaa?" Kay said back. Fia couldn't say anything in response, just shoving her hands in her pockets, knowing Kay was right. It'd take one really nasty set of words from Syles and she would just go back to her timeline at least.

 

[_gallifrog_]

For John both theories held equal sway, they had no way of understanding the wolf's motivations, this was no typical wolf person, this was a hyper intelligent, aggressive, volatile animal that had once been through what Cliff had described as 'torture loosely disguised as genetic research'. Clearly the wolf also knew Rinaa's past better than they did and was using that knowledge against them. He couldn't deny that Chas was right about where Sykes had been directing her hate campaign, she'd targeted everybody from the 'Earth crew' except for Jay, though maybe that was partially due to the fact that the assassin had no inhibitions about harming her daughter's body in order to get at the wolf and gave as good, if not better than she got when it came to verbally flaying somebody. None of the men doubted that well placed words from Rinaa/Sykes would be enough to make Fia leave.

When Kay asked her final theory Elliott actually had a theory for it, something that, in his opinion was blindingly obvious. "I think the answer to that is two deceptively simple things. First of Sykes is not always in control of their shared body, it takes an intense emotional spike, be it fear, anger or a depressive mood for Sykes to push through whatever guards prevent her from taking full control over the body. Up until now it's only been the mouth she could get control of, this morning is different, Rinaa willingly gave up that control to Sykes." Chas nodded, seeing where he was going with all this. "And the second?" "The fact that Rinaa makes every effort to be away from us as much as possible, keeping her distance at every opportunity- enrolling in uni, sneaking out at night, hanging out with the teenagers and so on. The only people she really spends any proper time with from our core group are me and Jay, maybe Chas is there on the border. For a kid who came back in time to meet me, the only time I ever see that side of her is when we're alone. Avoiding us had always been a deliberate tactic, maybe Sykes is part of the reason why she does this?"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay, when saying her previous bit didn't give the obvious a thought, as in her mind it wasn't much that could stop Sykes. When Elliott spoke his reply and gave two reasons to what he thought was stopping it from completely blowing up in their faces and Sykes getting what she wanted for Rinaa, she nodded, seeing how obvious the answers were. "valid points. It's not many reasons but the reasons that are there are important" she replied. Fia continued to just listen the whole time, not entirely sure what she could fully contribute to the conversation.

"I think Sykes could be part of the reason. Rinaa knows just as well as we do what a sharp tongue Sykes has. And I can see the rare moments in Rinaa's face when she feels apologetic toward me or others for what Sykes has said before. Not often but for example, the last time in particular towards myself, I definitely got that vibe from Rinaa." Fia finally spoke up. She was always one to give Rinaa credit where it was due and she truly felt like this moment was one of those times. Despite every wall that got thrown up in front of her to stop her from getting remotely close to Rinaa, she did still want to prove to the girl she was of no danger or threat to her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John nodded in agreement with what Elliott was saying, sometimes it was the simplest answers that were the solution to such complex problems. Rinaa was nothing but complex, and John felt that in a variety of ways Rinaa was just like him, a warped reflection of what he could have become had he not had people like Chas and his sister in his life that forced him to get his shit together and do something about his problems that wasn't drinking, smoking and drugging them away. He felt a sort of connection with the teenager, they shared the same negative traits, but in her case those certain traits were dialled up well beyond the max. To put it in poetic terms while Fia tended to embody his better traits and abilities, Rinaa personified the negative ones. As he listened to the conversation he increasingly felt the urge to light up a cigarette, hoping that the nicotine fix would help him deal with everything.

"You're definitely onto something with all that Ell, maybe not the whole picture, but a decent chunk of it." Chas agreed with what Elliott said as it not only backed up his theories but Kay and Fia's too. What he didn't say was that he didn't think any of them could ever truly understand or explain what Sykes and Rinaa were to each other in their quasi-parasitic relationship. "Fia, I think I've seen those moments too, but like you said they're really rare and usually followed by about sixteen different walls going back up. There is a part of her that wants to apologise and beg forgiveness, but it seems to be pushed down with every other part of her that displays any kind of real emotion. She doesn't want to show any of these parts to us it seems."

 

[MzHyde]

If John had gone off a few steps to smoke a cigarette because of this whole conversation, Kay really wouldn't blame him for it. If she smoked and wasn't pregnant she probably would have done the same thing if she was honest with herself. She had never once given him crap or disapproving looks for his smoking, she accepted that was a part of him. Sure, a part of her did wish he wouldn't smoke for health reasons, but she wasn't going to start getting on his back about it. She nodded agreeing with what Chas was saying, that Elliott was more than likely onto something with the theories. Yet that was all it was, theories.

Fia looked at Chas when he aimed his next lot of comments toward her and what she said about seeing that rare faint glimpses that Rinaa was sorry for the hell she or more accurately, Sykes was creating. "I'm glad I'm not the only one whose noticed them. Makes me feel less like I'm imagining them to see the good in Rinaa. Which I do believe is there" she replied. "and I get why she's putting those walls up. It's easier to shut people out than let them in. To show any kind of weakness or what you perceive to be a weakness is ridiculously difficult to do. Because once you do let someone in, there's no going back from it. There's that fear there that if you let that person in, they'll treat you like glass. I'm pretty at least two of us can know what that feels like" Kay remarked, meaning herself and John.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others all had pity for Rinaa and what she was going through, it was a truly awful experience, her family life had been a living hell, but at least she could escape from that, Sykes was one problem Rinaa couldn't run from or suppress. The wolf was now too powerful to be suppressed by any medication except maybe Omega, but Jay was adamant that the drug was a last ditch option only and wasn't budging from her stance on it. The assassin knew the side effects that it caused and refused to let her daughter go through them again.

Kay was clearly speaking from the heart and the others nodded along with her words, their faces showing how absolutely true they knew them to be. John knew the last part of the spiel was aimed at him in particular. It was far easier to shut people out and force them away than to actually admit you needed help. "It goes deeper than just that. When it's an issue this big, telling people is going to change everybody's opinion of you permanently and not necessarily for the better. It's the idea that once you bear your soul and people see what truly lurks beneath everybody will just turn away in disgust having seen what kind of monster you really are, in this case, the monster isn't metaphorical. It's the belief that if you can't fix your own life, then why would anybody else do any better? It's better to push people you care about away, than to have them run away, or worse, to have them constantly being burdened with your own problems."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was speaking from both the heart and experience. Until she started to tell Chas and John what her history had been like, she hadn't let anyone in. Even with the hospital visits and therapy visits which were against her will, she shut people out and the crap she did let people like Sam know, it was a case of smoke and mirrors just to make them think she was willing to get help when it was the compete opposite. As John spoke up with more in depth details about what she was talking about, she nodded in agreement. When she said her bit, she was trying to condense it all down and just get the basic point across of what she was getting at.

She knew there would be more to it and in Rinaa's case, it went much much deeper than that of what she said. "naturally it goes deeper, especially with her, but you still get my point. Letting people in leaves you vulnerable, plain and simple. It brings so many more anxieties and worries that you really feel like you can't turn back and stop yourself from letting people see the cracks and pry them open. It's self preservation at the end of the day and I genuinely think that that's the case even with Rinaa and in a weird way Sykes. Except Sykes is doing it in a volatile manner whilst thinking she's doing it to protect Rinaa... Or she's just doing it coz she's vicious animal...no one can know except for Sykes" she said.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I don't doubt it's a form of self preservation in Rinaa's case, leaving and backing away seems to be what she does in volatile situations." John gave a look to Elliott and Chas that said 'I'm right on this, yeah?', to which they nodded. "If anything she and Sykes seem to be opposites in that regard, Rinaa closes herself into her shell Topwhile the wolf goes on the attack and whatever happens to be nearest." Elliott spoke with confidence, having experienced both of them on their own, it was one of the few things he'd picked up on. "We can't claim to understand Sykes" Chas sighed, hoping his words weren't coming out like he was defending the wolf, which he most definitely wasn't. "Even if she is a humanoid form at this moment in time, she isn't a person in the same way as we are. Wolves of any kind are hardwired differently to us, no matter how hyper intelligent she is she still sees the world through the animal lens and is governed by animal instincts as opposed to the emotional and factual logic we use. The way she acts makes sense in her mind and world view, but not in ours. So yeah, we can't know is my point."

"It's all well an' good talking about it, but is there anything we can actually do about this whole mess? Or will we just have to watch it play out with deadly consequences?" John asked bluntly. They could talk psychology all day, attempting to understand what was going on with Sykes and Rinaa and maybe they'd hit on the right answer, but it wouldn't achieve or change anything in the long run. "Cos she's sure as hells ain't going to come for any of us for any kind help, advice or support really. Unless she has another breakdown and one of us just happen to be around." He added, referring to the one time Rinaa had broken down near Kay and explained through tears that she didn't want to die.