Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Fia wasn't ashamed of what she got up to, in fact she was rather happy that it only took the siblings to truly show her who she was attracted to and what type of person she was attracted to. She was however slightly embarrassed at how her half brother and John were being about it, finding they were being exactly how she imagined they'd be-utter teases and insufferable. If she wasn't hungover, she would have protested a lot more but she just didn't have the energy to do so, and accepting the fact that not even her mother was bothering to help her, she accepted her fate of being at the mercy of her brother and father. Shhe groaned disapprovingly at Elliott and John both saying they weren't going to let this drop any time soon, but she was thankful that no one commented on Chaol looking like Elliott which made her feel a lot better about the situation after Rinaa out the horrendous thought in her head.

"you two are insufferable...you're both lucky I love you" she grumbled, leaning away from John and flopping into Kay's side instead, knowing it was just better to let John snoop through her phone and be done with it. It wasn't the first time she had had John do such a thing after all, as she was used to it in her timeline. Through snooping, they would come across the short video of Rinaa playing on stage on the drums before Lobelia took over the recording, turning it onto selfie mode and snogging her face off, being in utter control of what she was doing. When Elliott asked Rinaa how she knew these photos existed, Fia found herself looking toward Rinaa in shock that she would have done such a thing.
"so that's how you knew what I was doing" she said in realisation.

Kay put her arm round her daughter as she cuddled up into her side, making the most of the fact that her daughter actually wanted solace in her and not John for a change. The fact that Fia always preferred John never was forgotten or lost on Kay, so when Fia did curl up beside her she was determined to make the most of it whilst she could. "so let me guess, you paid someone to use your phone to get photos of Fia?" Kay smirked in question, knowing that Sam had done similar to her once or twice in her younger days and those rare occasions she agreed to go out with her sister. Sam never paid anyone, but she sure did give her phone to other friends when she needed to a bathroom break or was going up to the bar to get a new round of drinks.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the looks of realisation Rinaa let out a small chuckle, Fia's was particularly funny, it was clear the other girl had thought that because Rinaa had been on stage she wouldn't have any way of knowing what went on below on the dance floor, well now she was being proved very much wrong. John let out a loud laugh as did Elliott, it was such a simple solution to the problem. "That's bloody brilliant!" Elliott declared, while John nodded in agreement. Chas' laugh of amusement and accompanying smirk were hidden behind the newspaper he was attempting (with mixed success) to read. Cal and Cliff exchanged looks, guessing that it wasn't as normal an occurrence on Earth as it was on Attil.

"You make it sound so dodgy phrasing it like that." Rinaa replied, before smirking, making it clear she was in no way ashamed of her actions "but yeah, that's pretty much what I did. Said barperson also filmed a good chunk of my set onstage, so it wasn't done TOTALLY for nefarious reasons." she reasoned."I'll watch over my clips like I usually do sometimes later." She then decided to fill in the context of why she'd been able to do such a thing so easily."It's a normal thing to do on here, one of those unwritten services on offer in most nightclubs. The bar staff make good money out of it, so they're hardly gonna refuse, 'specially as most of them are students."

"Very true, bills as a student SUCK big time" Cliff nodded, remembering her own student years, she'd never worked in a bar herself, being deaf made that job more trouble than the pay was worth (and besides, her course offered her paid placement in the hospital/medical clinic). "Oh god don't get her talking about those." Cal groaned. "Medical school bills are ridiculously high, though this one got a scholarship of sorts, plus being deaf meant she got a grant thing too. With the military courses the government pays for most of the fees, kit and travel charges, and you get free accommodation too, so I got lucky. There was no WAY I would have been able to afford uni otherwise, though Dan's convinced he could have cut a deal with the university." "I believe he could have made it work too, that man's damn persuasive." Cliff replied. "Don't get me started ranting about university costs either." Rinaa groaned, only to be interrupted by the sound of the spare phone (the one used only for Jay to communicate withe them) chiming.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay had to smirk at the clear amusement on everyone's faces, the shock on Fia's face and the sheer exclamation of being impressed from Elliott. Not to mention it was amusing to hear Rinaa say that it was a dodgy phrasing that Kay used to summarise what Rinaa did. She listened as Rinaa, Cal and Cliff went off on a short tangent about student fees as it was loosely linked to what she did to get such evidence. "I only guessed coz Sam would do similar to me, but with trusted people in the groups we'd go out with rather than barstaff. Knowing her she'll still have those photos or videos of me" Kay explained, whilst knowingly putting into John's head that if they ever find Sam (which he knows they do, thanks to Fia) there's a high chance Sam will still have those photos of a younger premiscious drunken Kay. Unlike Fia, she wasn't as embarrassed by the prospect of John seeing her in such a manner, she knew she got up to drunken make out sessions and one night stands in clubs and bars, it's a part of who she was when she was younger. Sure she wasn't particularly proud of those times, but she wasn't embarrassed by them anymore.

"and yeah, student loans suck majorly. You'd be surprised how many loans or debt levels you can get into with art university. As Ell probably knows, art supplies are ridiculously expensive if you need good quality, then there's the cost of getting into a decent university that holds a decent art course. Let's just say, I don't miss the financial side of art school in the slightest" she added, the end of her spiel creating a smirk on her lips. She was all too aware that Rinaa probably wasn't listening too much as the spare phone for communications with Jay started ringing, so she mostly spoke to Cal and Cliff instead about the whole student loans topic, even though she did aim her comments to everyone.

"can I have my phone back now or are you wanting to snoop some more?" Fia asked John and Elliott, changing the subject partly as she sat there pouting.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the sound of the phone going off both Rinaa and Elliott's heads turned towards the spot where the phone was charging. It wasn't unusual for either of them to go for long periods of time without contact from Jay (for Elliott it was when Jay was freelancing where as for Rinaa it had always been connected to work, both Jay's assassin life, and her other, legitimate job) but given what was at stake when it came to the upcoming trial and the kind of people Jay was trying to get into contact with (highly capable and equipped spies with time travel tech who could just as easily turn her in as they could help her) they were both on edge. With surprising grace and coordination for somebody who was hungover Rinaa vaulted over the couch and grabbed the phone.

Having nothing to contribute to the conversation on university fees (though plenty to contribute about being piss poor) John chose to stay quiet while Chas returned to the newspaper. At Fia's words, John looked up. "Yeah you can have it back, we're done snooping for now." The emphasis on the 'for now' part of the sentence made it clear that, as Fia well knew, this would be far from the last time he'd take advantage of her leaving her phone so blatantly unlocked. (A locked phone was different, John had some boundaries after all). "I would chuck it, but with your hungover state you'd probably fumble it." He held out the phone to her.

As Cal had hinted at earlier Cliff's rants about the costs associated with medical school were nearly endless. The kind of training doctors on Attil went through was miles ahead of Earth medicine, not only did they have to learn about the various types of Devra and the best treatment for these types (a pyrokinetic would respond differently to certain medication than a telepath would), they also had to study xenobiology. There was a deceptively large number of trips and extended stays in other system which although paid for in part by the university, they still added to the cost. Though it was clear despite the cost, the crazy hours and the fact she was going through military training at the same time, Cliff wouldn't change anything for the world.

The conversation was interrupted by Rinaa calling over at Cliff and Cal. She and Elliott had spent about five minutes chatting with Jay, before the assassin got down to business, The phone wasn't on speaker, so the only way for Elliott to hear was to put his ear right by the phone, which was how he'd ended up with arm arm wrapped around Rinaa's shoulders as the spoke to Jay (a sight Fia would be restively familiar with from her timeline). "Jay wants to know if everybody, but mainly you two, would be chill with having him in the flat and seeing your faces or if it would be best for them to meet elsewhere?"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that John agreed to give her back her phone, and she wasn't surprised that he'd take the opportunity to still make a little dig about her hungover state which made her simply roll her eyes at the comment, "yeah yeah.. So little faith" she replied sarcastically. She held her hand out and took the phone from him, at which a text from Lobelia came through asking how her head was. She mentally gave a sigh of relief and thanked the universe for not letting the text come through when the phone was still in John's hands, not wanting to even imagine what he'd do if he saw such a text, knowing he could be a big enough arse to do pretty much anything. As Rinaa flipped over the couch from the coffee table, Fia replied to the text saying how her head kills but she'll survive, before noticing how Elliott was beside Rinaa as he strained to listen to the phone call from Jay.

When the question came up about Jay thinking of bringing this informant and spook to the apartment, she personally didn't see any problem with him seeing her face, but it wasn't her call and any of their calls except for Cal and Cliff. "whatever is fine with Cal and Cliff should be all that matters" she said plainly, glancing down and seeing that Fia was texting the girl from the previous night, having recognised the name from when Fia said it earlier. She couldn't help but smirk over it but keeping her nose out of it as much as possible so not to get lectured by Fia for being nosey, she was just trying to be the less annoying parent in this situation after all. If she was honest, she was surprised that if Fia felt as bad as she was making out, that she could even look at a phone screen for a long enough period of time. She certainly couldn't ever bring herself to stare at a phone screen when she was severely hungover.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal and Cliff understood that what was being asked of them was far more than having a mate around. This was a trained spy who walked in circles they couldn't even begin to imagine (and didn't want to imagine either). The world he inhabited was one where knowledge was power and letting somebody into your home gave them all kinds of power and information over your life. Cal and Cliff's spoke volumes about the kinds of people they were, from the choice of books, carpet patterns, weapons, various medical kits dotted around the place, food in the fridge... almost everything in their flat told some kind of story about who they were and what they did. And letting this spook see their faces? Well that was a risk for so many reasons. Chas and John stayed silent, what they thought didn't matter, this was Cal and Cliff's place and their call.

The two women looked at each other, a wordless conversation passing between them. They couldn't physically speak through their bond, but they could sense the nuances of each others' emotion, which said a lot. "Would you vouch for this guy?" Cal asked after a few minutes of silent consideration, while at the same time Cliff asked "can he be trusted not to turn against us?" "Well, I only ever met him once" Rinaa replied "and I was about... sixish at the time and don't really remember much from that meeting. But in my timeline, no matter what Jay has done or what side she's working on or with, Dakkon's stood by her and helped. They've got history, he knew the twins when they were really young, he's the one who taught Jay how to hack along with some other spy shit. He's strongly principled, tenacious and above all damn good at what he does. And unlike Jay and Quin, they've never fallen out, no matter the shit Jay pulled. Given what he does for a living, yeah, you can trust him not to abuse this privilege."

The two women considered again. Ever since Dakkon had first been mentioned Rinaa had been firmly in favour of this guy, she clearly liked him (which was more than she did with a lot of people in her timeline). Jay had also vouched for him and she was just as sceptical and disapproving (if not more sceptical and approving) of people as her daughter was. "Well the flat isn't bugged or monitored in anyway we know of, or that Deke knows of, which makes it a safe place to meet. And less suspicious and likely to be interrupted than doing it on the roof." "And anybody who doesn't want to be involved can either hide out in the back rooms or just go somewhere else for the duration of the meeting. In other words it's a yes."

 

[MzHyde]

Apart from the one statement that Kay made saying only Cal and Cliff should make that decision, nothing else was said by her or Fia. Kay found herself listening to what Cal, Cliff and Rinaa were saying about this Dakkon guy knowing that she would no doubt be slightly suspicious of someone new coming into their group but she trusted Cal and Cliff's decision making wholeheartedly, even more so than Rinaa's opinions on things due to still having a gripe at how she could treat Fia and herself at times even though Rinaa was proving herself to be a lot better. When Cliff said it would be less suspicious if Dakkon came to the apartment, Kay did have to think that they had a valid point.

Fia on the other hand was half concentrating on the information about Dakkon meeting the lot of them to help them save Elliott, and half concentrating on the flood of texts from Lobelia that she was replying to as the painkillers Cliff gave her finally started to kick in and her headache was starting to dissipate and lessen in pain levels. "so I guess that means one more person in the apartment soon" Fia remarked casually but not in the least bit judgemental. She had to admit to herself she was intrigued to meet this Dakkon since seeing his name in her copy of the notebook she used to get here, she was curious to who this guy was. She then did her last reply to Lobelia, locked her phone and put it down on the coffee table before curling up into a ball into Kay's side. Kay had to smile softly at the action even if she was slightly taken aback by it, but kept her arm round her daughter to let her know it was okay curl up beside her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

With approval granted Rinaa relayed the information back to Jay. The call ended up shortly after that as her final shuttle journey was beginning and it wasn't the done thing to make a call while the shuttle was in flight as it would involve using the same lines of communication that the pilots did. "Jay'll be back in about five hours, speaking of having more people in the apartment." Elliott told them, removing his arm from around Rinaa, going to sit back down on the couch again. Rinaa chose to sit down on the coffee table, everywhere else was full and she didn't feel comfortable with the idea of copying Fia and curling up beside Elliott (no matter how much she might want to do such a thing).

Rinaa nodded at Fia's words. "Yep, but he won't be staying the night, so it's not THAT bad. Where he actually will stay, I don't want to know, the less people who know the better." Cal nodded in agreement with that statement. This was serious stuff they were getting involved in and secrecy was paramount. Keeping things on a need to know basis, was frustrating, but ultimately the right choice. By now Cliff had finished going through Rinaa's extensive pile of medication and slid the one she could take across the table. "These ones are safe to take now with alcohol still in your system. Unfortunately with the rest of them, you're going to have to wait until at least the evening before taking them." The teenager nodded as she began uncapping the bottle and laying out the pills. "fair enough, there's more here than I thought would be. They should be enough to keep my head level and most of the pain at bay. Thank the gods this one made it through, otherwise I'd be advising you to tranquillise me in case Sykes goes nuts." She didn't bother with water, swallowing all of the pills one after the other dry, making a slight expression of disgust at the foul taste.

"So are we all gonna be there while this Dakkon guy spills what he knows?" John asked, not bothering with any kind of preamble. With the notable exception of Rinaa (and sometimes, but not always Jay) there had been a definite sense of we're all in this together and have no secrets about what's going on. "Cos screw not having the correct clearance to hear whatever shit he's got for us, I want to know everything." The emphasis on the last word made it clear that John meant business.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded at Elliott stating when Jay would be back, which would make sense that she'd be back also, having assumed that it'd be Jay bringing Dakkon to the apartment. From her curled up position she on the couch, Fia nodded at Rinaa's words, not being entirely surprised that this spook wouldn't be staying the night at the apartment and that where he would actually be staying was completely classified to the lot of them. "makes sense" she simply replied before Cliff spoke to Rinaa and let her know which of her medications she could start taking. With Rinaa thankful that the current medication was okay to take and the comment about Sykes being made, Fia was also thankful for it as she didn't want to be the wolf's verbal punching bag in her current state.

Kay couldn't help but glance at John when he asked the most candid and abrupt question that she didn't even think of, but now it was mentioned, did make her wonder. She could tell that John wasn't going to be budging on his opinion and decision on the matter, knowing that if he stated even without the emphasis on the last word, he wasn't going to change his mind. "I'm with John on this one, I'd like to know everything as well and not be put in the dark over what has to be said" she agreed, to which Fia just nodded and gestured her hand at both John and Kay, "what they said" she spoke up, showing that when she hinted she was highly protective of Elliott, she wasn't joking or underpaying it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia wasn't the only one relieved that the medication that kept Sykes suppressed had made it through Cliff's checks, after the two teenagers had had such a good time last night, it would be a disaster for the tentative friendship between them to be ruined (again), putting them back to square one (again). Neither girl could stand such a thing happening, Fia couldn't keep being on the receiving end of such shit again and Rinaa didn't want to go through another guilt refuelled withdrawal again. One of them (or maybe even both) would snap if such a thing happened again. Elliott and Cliff were the only ones who winced at the phrase 'most of the pain' being used. Rinaa never spoke about how much her DNA being rewritten hurt, but it hurt constantly, with medication it was just a dull ache all over (one that could be ignored), but without she'd be wheelchair bound.

John's question was very valid, no matter how bluntly it was phrased, he had a point. Jay had confirmed over the phone that she'd been in touch with Dakkon and that he did have information, hence why she needed to sort out a meeting place as soon as possible. "Well I've got to be there, this is about me and my choice, I can't not be there. I need all the knowledge I can get about what's coming." Elliott said determinedly after Kay and Fia both declared they'd be there and wanting to know everything, they were the newest additions to this group, so to have their backing meant a lot to him."And based off the minimal information Jay gave, he's got quite a bit to say."

"Well it's our flat." Cal declared firmly, glancing at Cliff, who nodded "and my kid brother, the Attli side sure as hell isn't gonna tell us anything, so the fact that this guy knows information and Jay can make him tell us, then there's no way I wouldn't be around to hear it." "And even it wasn't our flat, and even if I wasn't technically family I'd damn well be there too. This is so far the only person who can actually tell us something new and useful." Cliff added, Elliott wasn't her brother by birth and out of everybody in the room, she probably knew him the least. She didn't quite see him as a brother yet, but she liked him and liked what kind of person he was and wanted to be there for him during this. "We've come this far and broken who knows how many rules already. I'd be a complete idiot not to be there." Chas added, wanting to be there, not just because of the information they would find out, but because Elliott was his godkid, and if there was any information he could find out from Dakkon that would keep Elliott alive, he was going to be there to hear it. "Obviously I'm gonna be there, this is the practically the reason for my existence. I know the stakes and what's lost better than anyone, if he's got something useful, then I want to hear it just as much as anybody else."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay may be the newest members in some way to their group, but to the both of them for different reasons felt like they had always been apart of it. Kay because of her bond to John and how she just felt like she found her family and where she truly belonged with everyone, and Fia because for her she had literally grown up with these people, so despite them being their younger selves, she still felt like she was just with her family from her timeline. To both of them, it didn't matter how long they had known everyone, they were still family and they would do absolutely anything to help keep them all safe, even Rinaa. Kay had made it clear to John once that if Elliott was his kid, then he was hers too and nothing that came their way would change that.

Both girls listened to the others declare that there was no way for whatever reasons they had, they were going to be out of the loop when it came to what Dakkon had to say about what he knew. It just solidified to the two of them they were a strong group together and just as stubborn as each other which when it mattered, made them one hell of a force to be reckoned with. "then it's settled, no one is staying out of the loop, no matter what is said to try and make us change our minds. If we're all in this together then we're in it completely, not partially" Kay remarked. She just hoped that if the day came and she truly needed this level of backing from the downworld, she would get it, as selfish as it sounded in her head.

 

[_gallifrog_]

To have this kind of backing from everyone in his crazy extended family brought Elliott very close to tearing up. For so many years his group had been just him and John and now in the space of only a few weeks his family had grown massively, including a whole branch he'd had no idea even existed (Cliff's family) and two kids, who despite their faults (which were far more noticeable and obvious in Rinaa than in Fia) were worth fighting for and being proud of and deserved a proper future. It wasn't easy for him to wrap his head around the idea that his death was enough to cause unhealable divisions in his family and a war between two planets, that resulted in their mutual destruction, yet that had happened and was dangerously close to happening again if they didn't take some kind of action. "Agreed, this is bigger than just us, but being united is gonna go a damn long way, we're too bloody stubborn to yield on something like this."

The others gave their statements of agreement, reiterating what they'd said beforehand. There was no real knowing when Dakkon would arrive, sometime after Jay did was the only thing they could work on. Cliff had the full afternoon and evening off but if she didn't already have it, she would have taken the day off to ensure she'd be around. Cal did had work, but knew Dan would be more that happy to let her only do a half day of work. Rinaa had arranged to spend the morning with her girlfriend Moya, so they could chat music and so that Moya could interrogate her about playing with Blue's band. She was due to arrive in about fifteen minutes Rinaa casually informed them. The rest of them had no pressing engagements. Elliott decided to go to the roof to draw, he asked not to be disturbed which was his code for 'I'm working on Cal and Cliff's present so make sure neither of them go up there'. Cal headed to the forge to work while Cliff went to do the shopping, with so many people in the apartment, they were getting through food at a far faster rate than just with the two of them around.

 

[MzHyde]

When Fia looked at Elliott as he spoke his agreement with Kay's statement, she could tell that the open declaration of support to him was rather overwhelming to him, and making him emotional even though he didn't fully openly show it. She just knew the ticks of his from her timeline to know when something hit him right in the heart so to speak. As everyone spoke and Cal headed to work, she and Kay both nodded when Elliott stated his need to not be distracted, knowing instantly it was code for his work on Cal and Cliff's wedding present. Fia wasn't in the least bit surprised that Moya was coking over to see Rinaa after the earlier phone call about Blue's band either, knowing it could only be the obvious thing for her to do during the day.

Like the others neither Fia or Kay had any wish to leave the apartment on this particular day. Fia wanted to continue nursing the remaining part of her hangover whilst Kay was happy to stay home after the walk the day before she had with Chas. "another lazy-ish day to be had I guess" Kay half joked, whilst trying to debate on what to do as she had finished her book and wasn't particularly in the mood to sketch like Elliott. "and I'm not complaining in the slightest" Fia replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

With Cal and Cliff safely out of the way, John decided to join Elliott on the roof as knew from Elliott's previous statement that it was only cal and Cliff he wanted out of the way, that any of the others would be more than welcome to spend some time with him on the roof. Kay seemed to have the hungover Fia in hand which was a relief, so far all the signs of hangover Fia was showing was normal. he couldn't deny that it had crossed his mind that being half-phoenix might mean that Fia had adverse reactions to large amounts of alcohol (she wouldn't be the first out of the Downwordlers, celestials of hybrids to be cursed with alcohol intolerance) so it was a relief to see that all was fine with her. And it also meant the two women could have time to bond about whatever it was that mothers and daughters bonded over (an opportunity which was distinctly lacking in Fia's timeline).

Almost exactly fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the door of the apartment and a grin spread across Rinaa's face. As it was the weekend, neither Rinaa nor Moya had classes or labs to attend and Rinaa had really just been killing time by going through some old lecture notes while waiting for Moya to arrive. The other girl was dressed casually in a t-shirt bearing the name and logo of Blue's band. Rinaa smiled softly at the choice of shirt before giving her girlfriend a kiss (not caring that Fia, Kay and Chas were around to see this, this was her girlfriend after all). Moya had also brought her own laptop, which like Rinaa's was battered and covered in an assortment of stickers (though hers were themed around music and bike racing, as well as a couple for the plas-ball team back home she supported). The two commandeered a couch and it wasn't long before the two were deep in discussing music, laughing, joking and gesticulating wildly. They were sitting side by side, close enough that one for Moya's wings was loosely around the other girls shoulder. Fia would recognise the happy side of Rinaa as the one she'd seen last night when the girl was on stage and would realise that this was who Rinaa was supposed to be and who she actually was around her true friends.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay wasn't entirely surprised that John chose to follow Elliott up onto the roof, she was also thankful for the chance to bond with her future kid, even if it was to nurse her as Fia felt sorry for herself being hangover. That however didn't stop her not knowing how she could possibly truly bond with her kid, sure she was getting maternal due to the pregnancy (which she was convinced had a lot to do with her need to also protect Elliott), but this was her kid, a kid she had no idea how to really bond with because she was already a teenager and the knowing she was a difficult mother in Fia's timeline just made it hard for her to know what to do.

When Moya finally turned up, both girls could see how excited and happy Rinaa was when hearing the knock on the door and rushing to open it and greet her girlfriend. It made Kay smile seeing the other teenager so happy and Fia indeed did recognise the happiness radiating off of the girl from the night before. Fia then sat up to get her drink only to find it was empty which made her sigh in annoyance. Pushing herself off the couch she turned to Kay and Chas, "either of you want a drink whilst I'm up? I'm gonna make another tea" she explained. "yeah I'll have a tea thanks kiddo" Kay replied deciding to make the most of the opportunity of her kid getting her a drink. Fia would have asked Moya and Rinaa but they seemed so engrossed in what they were doing, she didn't want to interrupt them. She was also convinced if either them wanted one, they'd just tell her to get them one anyway.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas shook his head at Fia's offer, looking up from the book he was reading. He'd managed through stubbornness and looking through every single shelf in the shop to find a decent sounding book in English. By now he was well over halfway through and feeling extremely content. It was rare that he had the opportunity to sit around and properly read a good book. Chas was a voracious reader, he could easily get lost for hours in a good novel, and was always midway through something. He mainly read fiction, but a good bit of non-fiction too (hence why he was always well informed on current politics on Earth, scientific developments and sporting news). The idea of a nice warm cup of tea sounded ideal at this moment. "Tea for me as well please, I take it you know how I like it?" It was a rhetorical question, unless he'd been living on another planet, there was no way Fia wouldn't know how he took his tea.

Now that his nose was out of the book, he also took the opportunity to look at Rinaa and her girlfriend. The two made a good couple, both aesthetically and in terms of the chemistry they had, that much was obvious from to him when seen them together on the island for the first time. Thanks to the translation runs, Chas had actually been able to talk to her and had found her good company, sharp witted and slightly cheeky, with a real passion for design and fast bikes. It was clear that Rinaa was utterly smitten with Moya, just as it was clear that the other girl was utterly taken with her. They didn't just get along with each other, there was something deeper there too. Something that, because of Rinaa's terminal illness, wouldn't get the chance to ever fully come to fruition, which was heartbreaking. Both deserved better, but to see them making the most of the time they had, it brought a broad smile to his face.

Time flew by and it wasn't long before the sound of a key in the lock could be heard and Jay entered the apartment. She was still dressed in military gear (with the prosthetic scar still on) and didn't look she'd got anywhere near enough sleep, but there was a sort of contentedness to her posture that told everybody that things had gone well. She was surprised to see Moya, but didn't let it show on her face, instead chucking the bike keys over to Rinaa, along with a massive brown paper bag. The teenager caught both easily, a grin spreading across her face when she opened the bag to find five packets of the sweets she'd asked Jay to bring back. "It's one hell of a bike, you should be damn proud of it." Jay told her, hefting the bulky kitbags off her shoulder. "Hi Moya" she waved at the winged girl "everyone." If Jay was going to say any more than that, it was cut off by Rinaa coming over and hugging her tightly, something the assassin clearly wasn't expecting, but wasn't exactly complaining about either.

 

[MzHyde]

When Chas initially shook his head at her offer, she thought he wouldn't want a cup of tea which would have surprised her, but with the mention of tea, he took her up on it. At the question of whether or not she knew how he liked it, she gave him the cheeky look that said 'what am I? An idiot?' before smiling, "yeah I know exactly how you like it" she replied before walking into the kitchen with her mug she used earlier and put the kettle on, whilst pulling down two more mugs and making the cups of tea for everyone, in their preferred ways. She had done this so many times in her timeline that it was utterly second nature to her, she didn't even have to think about how Chas liked it, then there was hers with a fair amount of milk and one spoon of sugar, then Kay who just had it black no matter the type of tea.

She soon had them all made and came back to the main room, giving Chas and Kay their teas before sitting back down next to her mum with her own tea, blowing on it out of habit rather than it possibly burning her mouth before sipping it with a sigh of relief. Kay had to admit that the taste of a hot tea going down her throat felt amazing and was very much needed. Whilst Chas read and Rinaa enjoyed the company with Moya, Kay managed to strike up the odd conversation with Fia about all kinds of random things whilst every now and then checking how Fia was dealing with her hangover, which was now more or less gone. They only broke the conversation when they heard a key go into the front door lock and in walked Jay, whom they greeted back when she greeted them.

Seeing Rinaa get up and hug Jay tightly brought a smile to Kay's face, seeing that it seemed both teenagers were very juch in need of the affection from their mothers in some way or another, whether it be because they wanted comfort from feeling sorry for themselves, or out of happiness because candy was brought for them. "it went well I take it?" Kay asked Jay, even though she could see how tired the woman was. "Ell is on the roof doing Cal and Cliff's present" Fia added incase Jay was interested in knowing where he was or not.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Good to have you back Jay, Cal and Cliff are out, but they'll be back soon." Chas smiled, choosing not to make a comment about the dark circles ringing her eyes. On the initial trip to Attil Jay had barely slept and Chas had only found out later from Elliott that ever since her brother had died, Jay couldn't sleep while travelling on any kind of spaceship. Even when it was in dry dock she couldn't sleep, Jay had never explicitly said why, but Elliott's theory was that she suffered from nightmares and saw her brother ship being destroyed over and over again. Moya gave a wave and a "hi" followed by a slightly more hesitant "I didn't know you were military." Her hesitance came from the fact that she knew that out of everybody, it was only Jay's approval that mattered when it came to being with Rinaa/Artemis. (As far as she knew Jay was Rinaa's only blood relative out of the lot).

"I enlisted when I was really young. Most of my family have some kind of military connection, so it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time. I was gonna do a thing like Cal and Cliff did to get the military to pay for my university course, but that didn't quite work out.. so here I am." Jay replied in Attili, still hugging Rinaa. It was the truth, of sorts, she had joined up at a younger than usual age, but there wasn't any strong military connections in her birth family (or at least there wasn't in any of the scant records remaining after her planet had been destroyed). The unusual touchy-feeliness didn't go amiss on her and when her teenager finally let go it was the mostly faded scent of alcohol on her breath that clued her in to why this might be. "You can tell me ALL about the drunken hijinks later kiddo." She whispered, the any of Rinaa's head obscuring the movement of her lips. Rinaa nodded and headed back to the couch, still smiling.

Jay then switched to English to answer the others' remarks. "It went well, better than I thought I would and faster too, which I'm not complaining about. Sooner there's any kind of information, the better." At Fia's words she nodded "makes sense, thought I saw somebody on the roof when I pulled up. Might as well go up and say hi." She took her real phone from the spot she'd left in, putting it one pocket, her business phone firmly nestled in the other. With one fluid motion she swung from the balcony up and onto the roof.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was surprised to see just how long Rinaa was hugging Jay, having never pegged her the type to be clingy, herself? Yeah, she knew all too well during certain time she could be clingy onto her parents for a while but not Rinaa. Neither girl tried to even bother trying to understand what was being spoken between Jay and Moya, but they could only assume it was down to Jay's attire in some form as they both noticed how Moya was taking note of what Jay was wearing. When Rinaa finally let go of Jay and went back to Jay, they nodded at Jay's reply to the both of them, figuring that Jay would want to go say hi to Elliott.

"that's good it went well, glad it did for your sake too. And I'm sure Ell will be happy to see you back" Kay said back to her smiling as she watched Jay grabbed her personal phone before heading up onto the roof where Elliott and John were. If Kay was closer to Jay she would have suggested after that Jay get some kip to catch up on missed sleep but she wasn't so she kept quiet on it, guessing that if anyone could get away with telling Jay such a thing, it'd be Elliott. With Jay now on the roof, she went back to having her conversation with Fia as they continued their cup of tea. Fia enjoyed being able to bond with Kay, finding it highly refreshing that she could be close with her mother and not end up banging heads and arguing constantly over every little thing. It meant the world to Fia that she could be just be civil with her mother a d not be judged or scolded.

Kay was glad that the way she was treating Fia was clearly having a positive impact on her daughter. She was fully aware of how much closer to Fia was getting with her, more willing to not be at John's hip all the time and that meant a lot, which helped to try and reassure her that she may not be an entirely shit mother.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay said something under her breath in response to Kay's words that might have been "he'd better be happy to see me" but it was muttered so quietly and with her head facing in the other direction that only Rinaa with her enhanced hearing could know for sure what she'd said. Rinaa and Moya went right back to their previous conversation about music, now letting the other listen to recordings of their own performances. Moya didn't play with any band as such, she'd never found a group she particularly liked and not enough people in her group of friends were willing to join together and form a proper band, so instead, she sort of freelanced playing with whoever needed a drummer. Many of the songs Rinaa hadn't heard before, but she liked them all bar one, and made a note of the titles so she could look them up and listen to them later. Most things Rinaa sung were in English as opposed to Attili (or any of the other langues she understood), but the teenager had written a few songs in Attili and translated a few more into Attili and let Moya listen to those.

Moya left after another three-quarters of an hour or so, by which point Cliff had arrived back. She had another family engagement in the afternoon, which she couldn't weasel out of and wasn't really looking forwards to as her younger cousins drove her mad and it was family only so she couldn't bring Rinaa along to act as a buffer or to introduce her (which was something she was annoyed about, she'd met Rinaa's weird extended family, and she really wanted Rinaa to meet hers, particularly her siblings). She kissed Rinaa goodbye before leaving and the two promised to make plans to hang out again another day.

When Cal arrived back, Jay came down from the roof with John and Elliott. She sat herself down on one of the kitchen chairs and it was clear from her expression and tone that she meant business. "Some words of warning are due. Firstly he's a highly trained spy, so obviously don't piss him off or say anything stupid or give anything away. Assume he knows everything we do, knowledge is very much power. He may be a friend, but he also has a job to do and he's come here as a favour for me. I vouched for you lot, so don't make me regret it." The threat in her words wasn't hidden in the slightest. "When talking to him, definitely don't reveal anything personal, not even your name. He already knows you guys are from Earth, but it's pretty common knowledge that Elliott ended up on Earth, but regardless don't let on where EXACTLY you're from and definitely DON'T let on about the fact that two are time travellers. That's a whole can of worms not worth opening. He'll probably be able to smell whose human and whose not, but don't say any more than that. he may ask questions, but nobody except me is actually bound in any way to answer them, it's fully within your rights to say nothing. Any questions you DO ask, make them clear with no room for interpretation in other ways. If it looks like things are going sideways, do nothing, let it play out and let me handle it" she paused before adding in a slightly lighter tone. "And try not to stare at him too much, that's just plain rude."

 

[MzHyde]

When Cliff came back with the shopping, Kay got up and insisted to help pack everything away as it was an excuse to stretch her legs from sitting down for so long. She refused to take no as an answer and helped Cliff out, knowing it was the least she could do after everything that Cliff had done for not just her but everyone in their group, along with Cal. She also had it very juch in her head that she would offer to cook for everyone either this night or the next depending on how long Dakkon would be around for because she quite frankly, missed doing it, along with wanting to feel useful to everyone in the apartment as she quite frankly was feeling pretty useless to people and like a freeloader, despite it not being the case in reality.

When Cal got back and John, Elliott and Jay got back down off the roof, Kay was well and truly bsck on the couch where she was previously sat and turned her entire attention onto Jay as she began to speak with her warnings about what to do and say and not say to Dakkon. The threat about not letting her down was very much evident to Kay and Fia, and didn't have any plans on going against her on that matter. They continued to listen to her other rules and points of stern advice, nodding in agreement whilst feeling totally okay with doing exactly as they were told. "fine by us" Kay commented, meaning her and Fia. Neither had any thoughts out plans to ask anything, deciding that no doubt Elliott and John would be covering any questions needing to be asked. Fia also had no plans on letting on she was from the future, just like she hadn't told anyone outside of their group so far.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Nobody was surprised that Jay started giving them a whole long lists of dos and don't. Chas and Elliott were especially grateful as they had no prior experience dealing with spies. Cal and Cliff were part of the Attilian Royal Guards and as such had been trained to deal with all kinds of people while keeping a neutral expression. A lot of the advice Jay was giving them was common sense, but nobody was complaining. Given that these spooks had time travel tech John could see why them having two teenage time travellers could make them be perceived as a threat or make the whole thing look like some kind of trap. The most interesting point was learning that they were under no obligation to answer questions from Dakkon. Most of them probably would have answered questions out of courtesy and given the emphasis Jay was putting on not telling this spook any personal details or excess details, they could see why she was giving such warnings. Everybody knew what was at stake and not to fuck it up, but the not-at-all veiled threats Jay was giving made it hit home. This was too important to leave to chance.

With everybody confirming that they'd do what Jay said and let her take the lead it became a waiting game, choosing to sit around the table rather than on the couches, this was for serious business after all. John became restless after only a few minutes and resisted the urge to pace the apartment like some kind of caged animal and so ended up gnawing unconsciously on one of his hangnails instead, pulling it enough to draw blood (a nervous tic Elliott, Chas, Fia and Rinaa would all know well). Elliott, in an attempt to distract himself was drawing in one of his sketchbooks while Cal and Cliff were talking in hushed tones. Rinaa had gone back to some form of work on her laptop. Chas and Jay were the only two who managed to look outwardly calm, even though neither actually were, the former reading the newspaper, the latter calmly filing her nails.

After what felt like at least two millennia to John there was a knock on the door of the apartment, or more exactly, a pattern of short and long pauses between the knocks that had been pre-arranged. "Well this is it then." Jay remarked more to herself than to anybody else as she went to answer the door, still dressed in the military kit. The person who stepped through the door was nothing like any of them had been expecting. He was at least a head taller than John, which made him the tallest person in the room. He was some kind of lizard or reptile, every part of his body covered in deep black scales. His eyes had no whites or pupils and as well as being a dark green-black in colour there was a sort of timeless, ageless quality to them. There were three raised ridges of scales which extended from just above his forehead out and into points behind his head. Certain bands of scales both on his head were red-black in colour. As was usual for most lizard creatures, he wore only trousers which meant they could see some of the scar damage on his scales. His feet and hands, despite being scaly and tipped with claws were highly dexterous looking, particularly the toes which had far more joints than that of a human. Underneath the scales it was clear Dakkon was well built. The thing that caught everybody's attention once they'd managed to process the whole 'okay the dude's a lizard', was the scar running down his scaly face and crossing through his right eye, almost identical in positioning and length to Elliott's. He and Jay eyed each other up without speaking, sussing the other out for hidden weapons. Satisfied with what she saw Jay gave a brief flicker of a smile and gestured for him to shut the door, which he did.

Spoiler: Something like this

This is the closest I can find to what Dakkon looks like in my head
The colours and the eyes are different (and ignore that the person under the prosthetics is a female)

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay could see how restless John was in particular. Fia recognised it even more so than Kay did, but Kay did recall seeing him do such a thing before and knew it was a nervous tic of his. Both of them glanced round to see how everyone was trying to distract themselves, before just finding that Fia turned to her phone to distract herself, scrolling up and down on the menu screen, trying to decide what she could click on as a distraction and Kay remained seated whilst quite literally twiddling her thumbs. Both were glad that it was only a few minutes before Dakkon arrived, despite it feeling like triple the amount of time at least before they heard what was clearly a code knock on the door.

When Jay got up and went to the door to open it, they were surprised to see that Dakkon was of the lizard race before realising that they didn't really know what they were expecting him to look like. They kept their surprise inside, and not show it before noticing the similar scar to Elliott's, the scar tissue on the guy's scales and the very obvious fact he was topless. Something they were definitely not expecting from a top spy. Fia was for simple reasons expecting someone nicely dressed in a suit or smart casual clothing like on Earth TV shows, not someone who was topless, so to see such a person dressed in such a manner had taken her aback slightly.
If this was any other person coming to visit them, they'd have greeted their hellos in a casual manner, but neither knew if they should or not and neither certainly didn't want to be the first to say it so they remained quiet.

TThey quickly knew not to stare at the guy and just let Jay take the lead in letting him inside and over to the lot of them. Fia went from laying mostly on the couch to sitting up properly, deciding to not look like an utter slob with someone like Dakkon in the room, whereas Kay was already sitting as upright as she could muster in her current state, one arm by her side and one just casually laying round the bottom of her bump in a cradling position.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa and Jay were the only ones who knew that Dakkon was a reptilian person and thus the only ones not even the slightest bit surprised at his appearance. Between them they knew Cal, Cliff and Elliott well enough to see that they were mentally kicking themselves for not having twigged it earlier. Dakkon (and variations in spelling and pronunciation of that name) was one of the most common names among lizardkin (almost the equivalent of using the name 'John Smith' on Earth, so clearly Dakkon wasn't his actual name) and Jay had made more than enough references to the fact that he looked nothing like they'd be expecting. To the aliens in the group him being shirtless was the least surprising thing of all and didn't make him seem in anyway unprofessional in their eyes. It was simply a cultural difference- being cold blooded, lizardkin needed to soak in heat from the sun, so having their whole torsos clothed meant in colder climates they ran the risk of hypothermia. And with incredibly thick leathery skin, they usually didn't need armour. So the fact that he had a number of scars, including the prominent one on his face told them that he'd been through a lot.

John and Chas were in the 'shocked, surprised and trying not to show it' camp, they hadn't been expecting somebody like this at all, they'd been thinking like Fia and envisaging somebody who either fit the stereotype of an MI6 or MI5 agent (as portrayed in the James Bond movies) or somebody deceptively ordinary looking (like in a cop show). They had forgotten for a moment one crucial fact, they weren't on Earth and many aliens looked nothing like humans, it just so happened that those they knew had evolved somewhere with similar conditions to Earth. The two men wrestled their faces into what they hoped was nonchalance. The fact he was shirtless meant John was having difficult time keeping his eyes on the man's face. He'd never before considered the notion that lizards were be muscular, but this Dakkon was proving him wrong. Elliott couldn't stop looking at the scar, never before had he come across anybody with an injury so similar to his own. All he could think was that it had either been a very, very lucky swipe or it had been done deliberately to make a point. He made a note to ask Jay later if she knew what had caused it.

Dakkon scrutinised them all from his position just inside the door, taking in the group. The shifting around of certain people (mainly Fia) upon seeing him, didn't go amiss. With his monochromatic eyes there was no way of telling what he was thinking or who he was looking at but Elliott couldn't help but think that Dakkon was staring at him for the longest. He could practically feel his hairs standing on end under the silent scrutiny of the lizard and resisted the urge to shift around uncomfortably. The only one who did react to the scrutiny was, unsurprisingly, Sykes. Species like Dakkon's were hereditary enemies of wolves and as big as Sykes was in wolf form, Dakkon was bigger and probably stronger. The wolf's eyes narrowed and she snarled just enough that hr fangs could be seen, a warning to this stranger, this threat. Jay tensed almost imperceptibly and shook her head making it clear that everybody else should let in play out and not get involved (no matter how much they may want to).

Dakkon's response was to cross his arms, narrow his eyes and growl back, exposing his own fangs. His growl was deeper and darker than Sykes', a growl of dominance that they could all feel rumbling through their bones. in that moment it was clear, Sykes wasn't the top predator in this room and fucking with Dakkon would be a mistake. It was a growl that awakened some ancestral fear memory in all of them So for the first time since they'd met her, the wolf voluntarily backed down, head dipping in a sign of submission as she retreated back to lurk in Rinaa's consciousness. With that settled Dakkon sat down and began talking, his voice matched his earlier growl, low and primeval, but his words and his English were surprisingly understandable. "The information is sound, everything that's been checked has matched what our own sources say."

 

[MzHyde]

John staring at Dakkon and his muscular torso didn't go amiss on Kay or Fia. Kay was just thankful that she was trusting of John and not usually the jealous type, otherwise she would have found herself thinking all kinds of jealous thoughts, but she knew he was trustworthy as was the time on Cliff's home planet with the woman's brothers in the sea proved. Fia didn't even think twice about why John was staring, she was also surprised that lizardkin could be muscular, but she had to admit she never really thought about it until now. Both of them also noticed how Elliott was taking notice of Dakkon's scar on his face, Fia just having a feeling he would be asking about it at some point, even if it was to Jay.

When Sykes showed herself from Rinaa in the manner of showing her fangs and growling, Kay and Fia felt tense on the couch, wondering how the hell this was going to play out but took Jay's signal as gospel and the previous warnings seriously by not doing anything that would make them get in the middle of it. Instead they watched it all play out as told, and finally witnessed Sykes bow down and back off, allowing Dakkon be the alpha in the room for once. They didn't think anything could make Sykes back down, so when she did and let Rinaa be in full control, to say they were surprised was in fact an understatement. When he started talking, they for some reason weren't fully expecting his tone of voice to match his earlier growl, but they just nodded in acknowledgement at his words, not daring to speak up.