Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

After pranking Elliott, John decided that now was as good a time time as any to join in. There was something strangely thrilling about shooting across the ship and hoovering up chocolates. Zero-gravity was nothing like flying, and the strange state of weightlessness reminded him of the way he felt and moved during a drug induced dream quest, or some of her weirder nightmares related to the dimensional void between the universes and the Upside-Down Man's domain. He decided not to go for a gobbling motion, and instead to keep his mouth open the entire time, almost like some kind of filter feeder. As Rinaa suspected jay also joined it, but with only one purpose in mind, to race against Charlie. If all the others sat back in their seats there was just enough space above to set up two parallel lines of chocolates. Neither actually ended up winning as they accidentally crashed into each other and it quickly became a sort of zero-gravity grappling as each woman tried to prevent the other from grabbing (be it with their hands or their mouths) any of the remaining chocolates.

The game ended when Rinaa ran out of chocolates, the group had first worked their way through the massive bag of M&M's Rinaa had bought, then moved on to a massive bag of something similar to Malteasers and after that Matteo offered up another jumbo bag of Smartie-like chocolates. They were supposed to be going towards the snack stash in his dorm (don't tell Cliff, she really wouldn't approve), but he was enjoying the game too much to let it stop just yet. The game conveniently finished when they were only fifteen minutes away from the jump gate, and it wasn't long before the station and the humongous Dyson sphere became visible. "You know the drill by now, belts on and shut up while I try park this thing."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia watched on as John and Jay finally joined in on the game, seeing the tactic that John was deciding to go for and just finding it highly amusing seeing her father doing such a thing. She knew he liked to have fun when he could, and she knew that he had much crazier things but for some reason to her, when it came to things like this game or just having a laugh in the ocean like before with her, it felt different all the time. She put it down to the fact that he was younger than her actual father from her timeline, and she had gotten too used to seeing him worried out his skull when her Kay went missing that time.

She laughed at Jay and Charlie trying to race each other during the game only to end up in a scramble, desperately trying to get free from each other, until they all decided enough was enough thanks to the now lack of chocolate. Buckled in, she turned her head and stretched her arm over to Kay who was still very much asleep and gently shook her, "Kay wake up" she said quietly to not disturb Cliff, but knew the rules of not being asleep during take off or landing. It took Fia a few shakes of Kay's arm before Kay stirred awake with a little yawn, lifting her head upright, her neck clicking in the process. "we're only a few minutes from the jump gate, so you need to be awake" she explained to her mother before Kay nodded, rubbed her eyes to wake up more and saw that Fia was indeed was correct. She didn't intend to sleep through the whole journey but she figured her body clearly needed it if she napped so long.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Once again John found himself blown away by the sheer size of the jump gate station, it was far, far bigger than the Watchtower (in all dimensions), and being inside it, it really did feel like somebody had just taken an airport terminal and plonked it in the middle of space. The Dyson sphere was what blowing Chas' mind, the idea that a race (or in this case, a coalition of them) would be able to trap a star and convert everything coming from it to power was utterly incredible. he couldn't even imagine the years, nay, decades of planning, building and expertise that were put into making this place (and others like it) a reality. Everybody checked their belts were tight as Cliff and Cal flew in the ship on the final approach. They weren't expecting a bumpy landing, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The docking manoeuvre Cliff and Cal executed was the equivalent of parallel parking on Earth, with the added bonus that Cal and Cliff could approach the spot from the top or the bottom, as well as just from the side. The work was delicate, the thrusters couldn't be fired too hard without risking damaging another craft or sending them careering into the side of the station. Both Cliff and Cal had expressions of intense concentration on their faces for the final docking, Cliff pulling her bottom lip back and forth through her teeth as she manipulated the controls, all too aware of the sweat running down her back. It didn't matter how many times she'd executed a move like this one, she still felt the stress.

They slid beautifully into the space first time, the only jolt felt was the one caused by the docking airlock attaching to the side of the ship. The console lights flickered green, signifying that the airlock was pressurised and it was safe to disembark. Cal killed the engines while Cliff ran an hand across her forehead, wiping it on her trousers. "We're here and in one piece." The elicited a cheer from Matteo. "Well done to the ship, it did all the hard work here..... and you two of course." The second part was added in hastily when both women glared at him. Nat was already unbuckling and making his way down to the hold "Let's see if I can get all this baggage back out in one piece again, it was quite a task to get it right and balanced."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia remained silent after Kay woke up, letting both pilots concentrate fully without any interruption. The size of the jump gate and Dyson sphere always impressing both girls yet again, as well as never failing to be impressed by the amount of work and planning that would have go into making this a very real functioning thing. They watched on as Cal and Cliff manouvered the ship expertly and carefully until they felt the clunk of the airlock attaching itself to the ship and giving them the green light to be able to exit the ship.

Fia smirked when Matteo cheered at the confirmation of their arrival and in one piece, whilst Nat was already unbuckling and getting up to start unpacking the luggage from the hold. Kay and Fia both unbuckling themselves and stretched before standing up, despite not knowing what Matteo or Nat said, they sort of guessed Nat's words, unknowingly bring not far from what he actually said, but not entirely correct either. Kay started to feel a lot more awake finally, and Fia found herself shoving her hands in her jacket pockets before following everyone else toward the exit before stopping and helping by handing out the luggage as it came up from the hold, to their respective owners.

When Kay's bag came up, she instantly put it on her back properly, waiting for the others before she exited the ship with everyone else.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Nat did indeed manage to un-Tetris the luggage (a phrase invented by Rinaa who volunteered to help him). Hoisting their bags up onto their backs the others all exited the airlock. Cliff was the last to leave, turning off all the computer hardware and lights and checking the fuel levels before locking the access hatch to the cockpit, sealing the airlock door firmly behind them, locking it with the special turnkey to prevent it from being stolen by an opportunist thief. There were ways and means of busting open an airlock without the right turnkey, it wasn't impossible to do it and get away with it, but the methods were both noisy and time consuming. Cliff dropped off the keys back at the hire desk, informing them of that although the craft had been refuelled off-world, it would need to be refuelled again before the next flight.

They all headed out to into the main terminal, which was where they'd part ways. Nat and Matteo would both be taking jump gates to their respective schools. Nat's university had a series of jump pods a short distance away from campus. The university (like many others) felt it was a necessary expense as it accepted students from various star systems (not to mention the professors, guest lecturers and sports teams who used them). Matteo's jump gate would take him to another station where he'd be able to take a shuttle back to his school. Charlie could have simply taken the jump gate back to her work planet straight away, but instead she was going to wait for her work partner (who'd combined their trip to Cal and Cliff's wedding with a visit to their own family) and then they'd head back together.

"Well looks like this is goodbye." Rinaa said to the trio, speaking Cliff's native tongue. She was painfully aware that she'd never see them again, three people who had been so important in her life, both in the future and in this timeline- the over dramatic, cheeky, energetic animal-loving Matteo, whose advice for many things was 'just go for it', the quiet, but sincere Nat who was always grounded and could spend long times reading in silence with without things feeling awkward and the badass, yet incredibly hard working Charlie, who never gave up and never gave in on a case, but also had a more relaxed side, and a real talent with the cello that she was only just beginning to rediscover. She tossed over the sweets she'd bought for them earlier, citing "Cliff told me what you guys like" as her reason for knowing what their favourites were. She ended up being wrapped in a group hug by all three off them, Nat whispering something in her ear as he let g, to which she nodded.

 

[MzHyde]

Knowing that this was the moment when they'd all have to part ways, Fia got a little sad yet again knowing it'd be years before she saw them all again but not as she sees them now. Yet it made also made her sad for Rinaa, knowing this was the very last moment she'd ever see Cliff's siblings. She knew for Rinaa this was truly a final ever meeting, so seeing her get a group hug from the three of them made her smile but there was a small element of sadness in it as well. She never wanted to go through what Rinaa was having to experience in this moment in time, not with everything else on top of it.

When Rinaa was done being hugged by all of them, she used the universal sign of waving at the three of them to say goodbye, before giving them all a hug as well, especially Matteo as she really did bond with the guy. She also appreciated the time she had hung out with Nat grooming the dogs, so she felt it was only right to give them a hug, knowing that when they next see her, it was going to be extremely confusing and trippy for them, more than her. She just hoped they wouldn't freak out too much when the explanation came about. She soon let go and stood back again for the others to say their goodbyes. Kay gave her a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder that said so much without her even opening her mouth and it was a gesture that Fia appreciated, even if she thought Rinaa deserved the gesture more than she did.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was Cliff, Cal and Dan who really properly said goodbye to the others, they knew them the best after all. John, Chas, Elliott, Jay and Moya had said their goodbyes and given their final words earlier back when they could all speak the same language. Charlie and Jay had really bonded over the course of the week (a fact that surprised Elliott as the side of jay he'd seen up until then really didn't get to close to people). It hadn't taken the two women very long to realise that they had plenty in common, both in terms of personality traits, skills and the unrelenting drive and passion they had for their respective jobs, it was surfing that really drew them together. Despite operating on different sides of the law they respected each other's skills and there was a vague talk of keeping in touch and maybe even teaming up the next time they were in the same system. The two women exchanged a handshake-hug combination before parting ways.

The fact that there would be some serious explanations dues the next time wasn't too far from anybody's mind. Explaining time travel was going to be complicated, and Cliff really wasn't sure how her siblings would take it, let alone her parents. Rinaa's terminal illness had, in a strange way, provided the perfect way for her to be written out of the story, without need for time travel explanations. But explaining that was a hurdle for the future, one Cliff really didn't mind procrastinating, she wasn't in the habit of lying to her family about such serious things. There was also a bittersweet element to the goodbyes, with Jay and Elliott in particular all too aware that for Rinaa this goodbye was final, that she was saying goodbye to another part of her life that she was nowhere near ready to let go of.

After being hugged by the three siblings, she was pulled into a sort of hug from Elliott and Jay, as gesture which meant so much to her. It was far too brief but Rinaa herself broke it off, knowing that if she let herself stay there, wrapped in both her parents arms, she'd just break down crying there and then. And if there was one thing she really wanted it was for nobody to see just how truly broken she felt inside. There were already tears brimming in the corner of her eyes as she broke away, but she quickly wiped them away and put on her game face, determined to hold herself together until they got back to Attil where she'd be able to find somewhere (more than likely Cal and Cliff's utility room or a roof) to hole up and sob her soul out.

The teenager refused to look at any of them or say anything as they made their way to the jump gate was and Moya knew not to ask, taking the other girl's hand in hers, gently rubbing her thumb over the back of Rinaa's hand. They split into different groups this time, obeying the maximum of four people per pod rule, Cliff, John, Kay and Fia going together as one group while Jay, Elliott, Rinaa and Moya went as another, leaving Dan and Cal as the last group. The jumping process went smoothly, no nausea on anybody's part, only some very slight disorientation and bursts of colours flashing across their field of vision.

 

[MzHyde]

With everyone going their separate ways, Fia noticed how Moya just silently gave her support to Rinaa without questioning anything by holding her hand, making a very small somber smile appear on her face briefly before heading to the jump gate they needed in mostly silence. The fact that Rinaa refused to look at anyone of them after they said their goodbyes to Cliff's siblings, didn't go amiss on her. She went with John, Kay and Cliff, remembering the rules from last time easily enough. Once on the other side, she blinked a few times to let the colour spots go away as she waited for the others in the other two groups to come through.

Kay was surprised that she didn't feel queezy or dizzy from the jump gate, just as she surprised it didn't affect her the last time, feeling convinced each time that she would need quickly need a public restroom to gather herself. So when she didn't she was very thankful for her body complying with herself. Like Fia, she had the odd colour spot in her vision which she simply blinked away and not be too bothered by it. "well that went easier than I expected" Kay remarked. She had gotten used to the lack of morning sickness and nausea of any kind so she did not want to experience again anytime soon.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay recognised exactly what Rinaa was doing by refusing to talk or to make eye contact, the teenager didn't trust herself to speak without having an emotional breakdown. Jay could respect that choice, Rinaa may never had said it explicitly, but it had been obvious to both her and Cliff (there had been times when they discussed Rinaa at length, trying to figure out the complex web of past trauma, volatile emotions, secrets and paradoxes that was Rinaa) that the teenager did not want anybody in this timeline to see her when she was sad or soul crushingly upset. And they had no choice but to respect her choice in that regard. If there was one thing they knew about Rinaa it was that she could be incredibly determined when she wanted to, with willpower like driven steel. If she didn't want to talk, preferring to hold it all in until Attil, then Rinaa was going to use every fibre of her being to do just that.

Cliff's group went first through the gates, followed by Elliott's an finally Dan and Cal. The colour spots didn't throw anybody off, and the only one to experience any real side effects was Rinaa, who could feel the beginning of a splitting headache building up (it wasn't due to Sykes thankfully). Though even then the headache was more a combination of stress and mental turmoil. Cliff nodded in agreement with Kay's words, when it became clear that Rinaa was not going to say anything about the wonders of jump gates. "Yep, these gates are incredible in terms of how little side affects they have. Though they weren't always like this. The teleport tech here took DECADES to develop, and another fifty years or so to refine to this level where it's commercially safe over such distances. Starting out there were horrific injuries and malfunctions, and all kinds of gruesome deaths, you don't want to know the details, believe me. And there were all kinds of side effects too, mainly nausea, headaches, extreme disorientation, that sort of thing, which meant that, factoring in recovery time, it was usually faster to get a shuttle somewhere. But as you can see that's all been fixed now, and they're amazingly convenient now. A lot of us couldn't imagine life without them."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to what Cliff said in response to her remark, hearing that such a devi e took decades to perfect wasn't surprising to her. She figured anything this technologically advanced in comparison to Earth would take an incredibly long time to perfect enough to allow so many people to use without any drastic side effects. With Cliff saying she wouldn't know what kind of side effects or injuries had occurred, she took her word for it as her imagination could only go wild on such a thing and that was something she would rather not have happen when she was pregnant. "I can see why definitely. It beats travelling around airports by foot on earth that's for sure" she half chuckled.

"I'm just glad light spots in vision was all we got for a few seconds. Definitely didn't fancy chasing Kay if she got nauseous" Fia piped up in a typical teenager manner. "nice to know you're coming from a caring mindset kiddo" Kay smirked, making Fia just give her her usual cheeky smile back. With everyone through and seemingly okay despite Rinaa's headache, Fia knew it was onto the next part of their trip back to Attil. "what direction now?" she couldn't resist asking, not knowing if they had any time they needed to kill before heading back or if they were just heading straight back. Or more the point, she forgot what the plan was.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cliff nodded with a slight laugh. "Oh I know what you mean about airports and queues, we've got 'em too, though with pilot's clearance it makes things one hell of a lot easier." Cal nodded in agreement, as did Jay, Rinaa even gave a slight nod. She (like Jay) had been flying ships ever since she could reach the controls but hadn't had been able to get an official licence until she was sixteen."Though these jump gates aren't immune to that kind of thing. Jump stations get utterly clogged around the time of major festivals what with so many people coming and going. You really can't move for the people, and there was one time I we ended up stuck in a queue for six hours straight because of a festival." Cal groaned at the memory "Don't remind me." "Then there's also solar flares and solar storms. If the system you want to 'port to is experiencing either of those then you can't jump there. It's too dangerous, charged particles can fritz the equipment, or worse disrupt the teleport itself, resulting in all kinds of grisly injuries."

At Fia's question Cliff cast an eye towards one of the departure/arrival boards listing the shuttle times and gates. The Attil shuttle had already come in, but it would need to be refuelled, go through a myriad of safety and swap the old crew for a new crew one, not to mention unloading and reloading baggage. Cal was faster off the mark and answered. "It'll be at least another forty minutes before the shuttle is ready for boarding, at least judging by the boards. We could drop off the bags so as not to be carrying them around with us and maybe head up to the roof deck like last time or to the viewing platform under the station that we didn't get to see, then meander our way to the gate when they put it up?"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to what Cliff said with interest, finding that the moment she said around certain times of the year you wouldn't be able to move from the crowds, she gave a slight shudder. "that sounds like utter hell to me" she commented, remembering the last time she was in a small crowd and it set her off. She hated that she had developed such a fear of busy crowds in small spaces when she never used to feel it. She'd never forget the fact John had to shock her out of her panic attack with adrenaline that time. "sounds similar also to Earth, can't fly if the storms are too bad" she added before Fia spoke up about where to go next.

Fia found herself looking up at the boards as Cliff and Cal did, more so out a child like habit when the kids would look where the adults were, like they would understand anything in front of them but had no hope in understanding. She then looked at Cal as she beat Cliff to the punch by replying to her question with a decent response. Listening to the options they had, she liked the idea of dumping the extra bags they had between them by checking them in at least before seeing the viewing platform. "if like to see the viewing platform if everyone else is fine with that" she replied, wanting to really make the most of seeing as much as she could before she'd have to go back to her timeline. She also had a feeling Rinaa wouldn't complain in seeing the viewing platform one more time.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Dumping shit sounds like a good idea ta me." John agreed, while the rest nodded. Like with any airport it was just easier for them to dump as many bags as early as possible so they could get around the place more easily. The trip had been relatively short, but they all had extremely bulky bags. John really didn't want to know how many weapons were concealed in Jay and Rinaa's bags (or how they got them past security for the matter), but the bulkiness of their bag surely couldn't be caused entirely by clothes alone and both women had already returned their suits of armour to their respective armour lock ups after the wedding. Cal and Cliff willingly paid the extra fees to ensure that their wedding armour would not be damaged in transit, the fire and ice suits held far too much sentimental (and monetary) value to them.

Just like last time Cliff took care of baggage drop off, chatting with the person on the desk. Rinaa couldn't help but eavesdrop a little on the conversation, the baggage clerk asking (politely) what they'd all been doing, whether it was a family thing. Cliff happily explained why, gesturing at the new ring on her finger and explaining that the others were the extended family on her wife's brother's side. Nobody had any objections to going to the observation deck, Cal making what she dubbed 'a leadership decision of the highest order' that they would go to the viewing platform under the station. It was less popular than the upper platform as the view of the station above wasn't very attractive, but it did have a see through floor that made it feel like you were just standing in space, a very disconcerting experience that she felt Fia should definitely experience. Whether it would cheer Rinaa up in any way or not was another thing, but as they made their way down in the lift, the teenager's eyes flicked up from the floor for the first time since they'd parting way with Cliff's siblings. There was nothing in her eyes or face to suggest that she'd been crying, but there was a definite sadness in her eyes that was only the very tip of the ice berg of how she was feeling.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay also nodded in agreement baout dumping bags off even though she only had her backpack so she didn't mind keeping it on her as it had her sketchpad and such inside for the flight. She would have had her dress bag but she left it in The House knowing she'd be there again soon enough. It wasn't like she particularly needed the maxi dress so she didn't see the point in bringing it back to Attil when she knew she'd be back in The House after this trip to spend the rest of her pregnancy. Walking to the baggage drop off with the group, she waited as everyone dumped off their bags they wanted rid off, seeing Cliff talk her way through the questions as it went on.

She didn't have any issues with going to the lower obversation deck, especially as Fia really wanted to go there just to say that she's done it. In the lift Kay felt like it was becoming second nature now to just being going from one lift to another almost, but didn't complain. She noticed how Rinaa had looked up from the floor ever so slightly for the first time since they said goodbye to Cliff's siblings. She hoped the girl would be okay, or as okay as she could get it considering her impending future. Fia stood there with everyone else, finding herself rocking bsck and forth on her heels and balls of her feet.

Reaching there it threw Kay off guard for a split second seeing it was a transparent floor, giving that faux feeling of not standing on anything in the slightest. Fia found it incredibly disconcerting but she loved it. She loved looking down at everything seeing nothing but space and smiled. "this is so weird a feeling but so cool" she chimed up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The fact that the floor of the lower observation deck was completely transparent threw John and the others. They weren't sure what exactly to expect, the upper deck had had see through windows and walls (which made sense) but the idea of a see through floor had never occurred to him. There was a leap of faith involved in stepping out of the solid floor of the lift onto the transparent surface. It went against everything ingrained in them. From certain angles the see through surface was barely visible, which was making Chas think they should do a group photo or something, once he figured out how to of course. "Woah, now this is bleedin' amazin'." The others nodded in agreement, spreading out across the observation deck to take in the various views. It was mind bending to be so close to the stars. If there was no gravity, John suspected it would be pretty much exactly like floating in the void of space (without the freezing to death, asphyxia and dying part of course).

John couldn't resist crouching down to find out what exactly he was going to trust with his life. It didn't feel like glass, or plastic, it was cold, extremely cold to the touch. It felt almost like metal, but not any metal John had ever before seen. "Poly-metallic alloy." Jay called over. "Super strong, super resistant, extremely hard mixture of various plastic polymers and metal that becomes see through when run through about six different treatments. It'd probably take a shuttle crashing into this stuff to break it, but this bubble is deck, and most of the station is surrounded by various force fields to prevent somebody going kamikaze and trying to kill everybody."

At Fia's expression and the extremely similar look of awe and 'how the is this even possible?' on Moya's, Cliff and and Cal, couldn't help but smile. They'd first seen this kind of observation deck as kids, and it had blown their minds at the time too. "It gets even weirder if you lie face down on it." Cliff told Fia, which prompted Rinaa to speak for the first time, her voice even, but not quite normal as she translated for Moya's benefit, before adding "they're right, it really messes with your head."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay at first was very uncertain about stepping out the lift onto the see through floor but when she convinced her brain it was okay she did in fact move and look around. She saw how John couldn't resist squatting down and feeling the floor to figure out what it was made from before Jay gave him the answer to the question he didn't even say out loud. She did agree though with his earlier comment about it being amazing, even if she did think it was really trippy for the mind. She could also see how much Fia was amazed by it all as she walked around to see as many angles as possible.

Fia looked over at Cliff when she said there was a way to make it feel even weirder, seeing what was said as a challenge in a way and now wanting to do it, especially when Rinaa confirmed what Cliff said. "and now I wish to do it!" she declared, instantly laying down onto her front, and squishing her face to the floor, looking out the deep space below her. "woah!" she said muffled. "this is one of the most bizarre things I've ever done and I LOVE IT!" She added. Kay couldn't help but chuckle at Fia being the way she was, she came across as so young and excitable to her which made it slightly heartwarming to watch.

 

[_gallifrog_]

As soon as Cliff mentioned that there was a way to make the whole experience weirder John just knew that Fia would want to do it. It was the kind of person she was and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of his future daughter all but throwing herself at the floor in her eagerness to experience it for herself. It was genuinely impressive that despite her upbringing, her bloodline and the people she lived with and grew up around that Fia had managed to maintain a child-like wonder and excitability when it came to doing or trying new things. Everybody in their group had those moments of child-like wonder ever once in a while, but Fia was the only one one of them who could actually see the world through innocent, enthusiastic eyes, and in a far more positive light than the rest of them on a regular basis. Most of their group had all but lost that ability years ago, or in the case of Cal and Cliff, had so many other things going on that they couldn't let that side out anywhere near as often as they'd like.

Fia's behaviour was infectious and it wasn't long before the others were giving it a go, unintentionally starting a trend with other visitors to the viewing platform copying them. It was a very strange sensation altogether, the visual input to the brain said that they were quite clearly floating above space, while the tactile output was saying there were clearly lying against something. Almost by accident John figured out the trick that made it even trippier, if he lifted up his head so it wasn't touching the ground, removed his hands and started straight ahead, after about a minute and a half he felt as if he was actually floating. "Shit! This really is fucking with me mind" he remarked more to himself than anybody else.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay noticed how Fia's child-like wonder was making him smile which in turn made her smile all the more. She knew in that moment that Fia would bring a lot of smiles out of John as she grew up as well as herself. She couldn't put her finger on it exactly but something just told her that Fia brought a lot of joy to the home and to John particularly. She chuckled when Fia's wonder rubbed off on everyone else and they too laid front down on the floor to see what she was seeing. Kay on the other hand didn't because she quite frankly couldn't even if she wanted to. She just resorted to taking pictures of everyone laying down instead before seeing other visitors copying them.

When John lifted his hands and head off the ground, Kay had to snigger refraining from calling him a second rate Superman just to wind him up. Fia looked up at him and saw what he was doing, and as typical of her, she copied him and found he was I deed correct. "bloody hell!" Fia agreed before chuckling. "like father like daughter" Kay commented to herself shaking her head fondly at the two of them.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa couldn't help but smile slightly when John accidentally stumbled on how to make the effect even weirder. She deliberately hadn't mentioned it to the others, for the same reason that Cliff hadn't instructed them on what was the best way to lie on the floor. It was a thing best discovered serendipidously, and from her position sitting cross legged on the floor watching, she could pinpoint the exact instant when the effect kicked in for every single person (bar Kay who was unable to join in, though Rinaa suspected the other woman would get a chance the next time they all came visiting). The others' eyes widened at the exact instant the effect took place, and as their guards were mostly down the surprise and wonder was clearly visible, even from a distance. "Like I said, it's a pretty mind blowing effect." Cliff called over from her position lying face down.

Elliott couldn't help but nodding in agreement at Kay's 'like father like daughter' comment. It had become pretty clear to him over the past few weeks that future John really had been a major influence in Fia's life and she had absorbed many of his characteristic (predominantly the good ones). The similarities were clear to anybody with a working pair of eyes and who spent enough time with the two. Elliott knew he had picked up some traits from John, but it was nothing like what Fia had gotten. Elliott was hesitant to say that any of his personality traits had come from his birth parents, but he knew deep down they had. His parents weren't intrinsically bad people, they'd just handled things extraordinarily badly. It wasn't jealousy he was feeling, he didn't want to be compared to his birth father in the way Fia was being compared to John, just as he knew it wasn't intended as a slight against him in any way. It was some other strange emotional cocktail altogether and for the life of him he couldn't put a name on it. But he put those thoughts aside, it wasn't the time of the place. Instead he pulled a pen from his backpack and scribbled a note to self on the back of his hand using a sort of Attili-English shorthand he'd developed.

The time eventually came to move on when Cliff got a notification to say that the shuttle boarding would start soon. She couldn't help but groan at the gate number, before turning her phone to Cal, who sighed in agreement. "Typical!" She remarked, standing up, brushing down her trousers (not that there was actually anything on the floor, it was just instinct honed by years of sparring in sand or dusty arena and working in the forge. "Something wrong?" Elliott asked, seeing their expressions at the message. "The boarding gate is quite possibly the furthest one away from here." Cal explained, to which Elliott nodded and rolled his eyes. "Some things never change, it seems. Remember the time in...... I think it was the Xhaho jump gate?" Elliott asked, a slight smirk on his face, even if he was uncertain about the name of the gate, he was pretty damn sure Cal would know what time he was talking about. "Where our shuttle came in super late and all four of us had to sprint to the next gate for our connection, which was right on the other side of the flipping station, at the very, very end of the arm? And our parents were just jumping over piles of people's baggage like it was nothing, not even breaking stride?" Elliott nodded in agreement. "That was so crazy!" Cal chuckled as they made their way over to the lift. "Yet strangely fun, I think both of them really got a kick out of doing that."

 

[MzHyde]

When Cliff said it was a pretty mind blowing effect, Fia looked over at her, "understatement" she smirked, before slowly getting up into a sitting position by pushing herself into a plank position then rolling herself upright. She was completely unaware that Kay said anything at all and if she heard it, she would have taken it as a compliment rather than an insult. She idolised John just like most daddy girls did, even with the known flaws, he was her father and she was forever proud of him and to call him her father. Kay on the other hand didn't expect anyone to particularly hear what she said, her remark mostly being aimed to herself, yet she noticed Elliott nod in agreement at her comment making her realise she was heard by someone.

She noticed how Elliott made a note on his hand but made no point of bringing it up. That was his business in her eyes and none of hers. She continued to let them all have their fun until Cal and Cliff looked at Cliff's phone and looked disgruntled. She listened as Elliott asked what was wrong, and the following answer of it being their boarding area was the furthest from their current location. She watched on as Fia stood up after the brides did, taking the conversation as the hint it was time to go. Like Cal, Fia also out of habit, brushed herself down after standing up. Listening to the story Fia couldn't imagine people like Elliott and Cal's birth parents doing such a thing and smirked at the mental image. "guess that means it's time to rush off to where we need to be" she simply said.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John couldn't help but snicker slightly at the fact that there boarding gate was the furthest one possible from where they were right now. It was like some universal rule of airports that whenever you were late or delayed, the gate was a far away as physically possible from you. It was like somebody was doing it on purpose, John was fully convinced that some airport official out there had it in for him. Rinaa also smirked and muttered something that sounded like "now boarding at a gate that couldn't possibly be further". If John had to guess he'd say sh was referencing something or some in-joke from her timeline that they weren't privy to. The gesture of explanation she gave to Moya was quite clear on that- it's nothing, just ignore me, I'm going off on a tangent'. At Fia's assumption Cliff nodded "Yep, no need to run, we'll make it in time, but a little haste would be appreciated."

At Elliott and Cals' story he raised an eyebrow in surprise having never heard this story before. Most times when Elliott and Cal talked about their parents it was with an air of disdain, anger and annoyance. But in this case they were laughing at the memory, genuine laughter coming from a positive place (as opposed to the sardonic huffs of annoyance that Elliott usually gave), and actually smiling, smiles that verged on.... fond? It hadn't really occurred to him until then that there might actually have been some good times in Elliott's childhood, they were just overwhelmed by the bad ones. Like how, in John's own life, there had been good times, and people he genuinely enjoyed hanging around with for the sake of hanging around with them (not because he had some ulterior motives, though that was often the case).

John couldn't just leave the story alone, he wanted to know more. "Really?" He asked the two with a raised eyebrow and scepticism written all over his face. The siblings nodded in unison. "Yep, that really did happen, I was eight or nine at the time." Seeing that John still looked sceptical, Cal chimed in "I'm guessing my brother never mentioned the fact that both our parents were athletes?" John shook his head, that had never come up, he'd only ever known that Elliott's father was involved in politics while his mother worked in some kind of firm. "Well they were, back in their uni days I think? Hurdles for her, long distance and long jump for him. They were pretty good too, both tall, lithe and long limbed which I'm sure my darling wife" the was a very audible smile in Cal's voice as she said the word 'wife' "will tell you, are pretty damn useful traits for those kinds of athletics."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded taking it on board what she said, finding it not a problem in the slightest that haste would be needed to make sure they would all make it in time. She didn't even question what Rinaa mumbled and proceeded to talk to Moya about as she didn't really hear her. She too had noticed however, the fondness in this story that Cal and Elliott were sharing about their parents even though neither her or Kay said anything about it. Instead she just started making her way toward where they needed to board with everyone else when they all began to walk. She did eavesdrop though when John asked about the story, always finding the stories interesting to listen to as it meant she could learn more about her half siblings.

Both her and Kay continued to listen, finding it surprising that their parents were athletes before they were involved in politics, reaching high ranks. The fondness from the story havening never gone unnoticed by Kay either, she also noted how soft Cal's tone when she got to say 'my darling wife' which brought a smile to her face. "well I guess there's always something to surprising to learn" Kay commented back. "it's quite the, and pardon the unintentional pun here but, it's quite the leap to go from athletes to their current statuses" Fia chimed in. In her eyes the two interests couldn't be further from each other on a scale, but then she was still only seventeen years old so what would she know?

 

[_gallifrog_]

By now everybody was listening to what Cal and Elliott had to say about their parents, like Elliott Cal never really talked about them. Her mother walking out had been bad, the fact that she cut off all ties with Cal six years ago after they had one of the most ferocious fights ever, was worse. As for her father, it was even more complicated, she'd hated the way he treated Elliott in those later years, and had been angry and bitter for years afterwards, but whether it was the mellowing and maturity that came with age or the fact that he was the only one of their two parents to actually try when Elliott came back those few weeks ago Cal now really wasn't sure where she stood with regards to her father.

The way Cal said the phrase 'my darling wife' filled with such love made Elliott smile and Cliff blush slightly, it was going to take some getting used to when it came to being called somebody's wife as opposed to 'partner in crime', 'girlfriend' or more recently 'fiance'. "I can indeed confirm in my highly esteemed medical opinion, that my wife is right on that, for a biped those are the perfect traits." Cliff's voice contained an identical note of love on the word 'wife' as Cal's did, only reinforcing how well suited those two were for each other.

The siblings nodded at Fia's statement, before giving each other a look to decide who would explain. In the end Cal took that job. "Say what you will against them, there's a hell of a lot they did wrong, but at the end of the day they were people, and before we came along things for them were very different. Neither came from a particularly well off family and if they wanted anything in life they worked hard for it. Which they did, both were determined, highly ambitious, strong-willed, persistent, extremely charismatic and intelligent, from what people say there was very little they'd let stand in their way. Both attended university on scholarships, scholarships they earned through hard work. Athletics was something that got picked up along the way, like plas-ball for us I guess. When they left university, pretty much at the top of their respective classes, it was a choice between him going into politics or both of them founding a company. In the end they chose politics and things went downhill from there." Cal finished with a shrug. It was weird telling her parents' life story like this, it almost felt to her like she was arguing for their side of things. There was also a constant battle to say 'him' and 'her' instead of the parental titles she'd have used as a kid.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia noticed how Cal's doting words made Cliff blush slightly as she still let her mind get used to being called her wife and not just her fiancé. The two of them really were so perfect and sweet, they both thought. They listened to Cliff's reply about Joe that particular body shape was perfect for such things like athletics, whilst showing that same love and affection toward Cal.

Fia looked at both Elliott and Cal as they both nodded at her words, glad that they understood what she was conveying in her statement. With Cal deciding to take the lead and do the talking, Fia looked at her as she spoke, listening to everything she had to say about her parents before the road to politics came into their lives. With the explanation, she could see easier how it all went for them, whilst seeing more of an insight to her half siblings lives before she was even thought about. She also noticed the language used to describe the parents, never once calling them mum or dad or similar. "interesting, that's quite the background they have" Fia simply replied.

Kay had been listening in silence the entire time, just taking on board what was told, nodding every now and then during the story. It showed her yet again that everyone has a background and a story that not many know about.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott decided that it was best that Cal do the explaining of their parents past, not because he didn't know it, but he knew that his sister knew it better. She was four years older than him and shortly before he was 'exiled' Cal had reached the point in life where she was extremely interested in her parents pasts. particularly their teenage and student years and the crazy things they did, the places they went and the reckless activities they engaged in without a second thought. Cal had also done some research into her parents while living in the lock-up (trying to figure out how things had gone so dramatically wrong), and more recently when Elliott came back to Attil, getting Deke to hack into files to see if they could figure out what angle he was taking.

John listened with genuine interest and an expressionless face, nodding every so often. He'd heard none of this before from Elliott, he only ever knew of Zan as the villain of the story of Elliott's childhood. It hadn't really occurred to him that there was a whole life story behind the man, that there was reasons for him taking the path and stance that he did. The picture Cal was painting was an interesting one, she wasn't making him out to be a bad person, or trying to excuse his actions, she was just giving the facts in a pure third person perspective. Like Elliott she refused to use any 'mum' or 'dad' terms for her parents, instead sticking to neutral names, a way of distancing herself from them he supposed.

"So you're sayin' that if they'd chosen business instead of politics, your lives woulda been very, very different?" John asked, once Cal had finished her explanation. the siblings nodded slowly, both having had the same thought before. "That's what it seems like, yeah." Elliott replied slowly. While John's statement may have sounded simple, it was anything but, it was incredibly weighty. had his parents made one choice differently, then maybe he wouldn't have been spurned for his magic, maybe he wouldn't have been found out, wouldn't have been exiled, wouldn't have been sent to Earth, wouldn't have met John and found himself a new father, wouldn't have met Chas, or AJ's crew, wouldn't have met Jay and fallen for her and a whole myriad of other things wouldn't have happened. He'd be a completely different person. A similar thought process was happening in John's head as he tried to imagine what life would have been like had a barely teenage barely trained alien mage not crashed into it.

"There's no point trying to comprehend how different life would be if one choice was taken instead of the other." Rinaa said firmly, knowing exactly where John and Elliott's though processes were going. "It won't do you ANY good to think on what could have been, comparing it to what you have now. Sure life could be better, but it could also be a HELL of a lot worse. You can waste your whole life thinking of what could have happened, it's not worth it in the end, not one bit. It won't make you feel better, and it doesn't help, it does the opposite. You just miss what's important, what's real and all the good things and amazing people who have been staring you in the face the whole time." Rinaa's tone had the firm conviction of somebody who knew exactly what they were talking about. Her eyes seemed to blaze and in that moment she looked far, far older than her seventeen year old body and sounded far more mature than her nineteen years. Her words came from her heart, of that there was no doubt.