Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott listened with interest to Cliff's theory that if said memories were actually repressed he might be able to access them using his powers. It was an interesting angle. He knew that MindWalkers could access the repressed memories of others, and he himself had sense people's repressed and locked away memories when he was in their heads. He'd never mentioned it, but he could feel a wall of resistance blocking him out from certain parts of Kay's mind, though whether that was down to memories Kay had repressed, or ancestral memories she hadn't yet figured out how to access he didn't know. It was an invasion of privacy to look any further so he hadn't. John had a whole chunk of memories he repressed or shoved to one side, which Elliott knew were centred mainly around Newcastle and his time in Ravenscar asylum. Jay also had memories she preferred not to dwell on, but out of all of them, Rinaa had been the worst, she had a whole vault of memories she was trying to keep subdued, combined with the pain the medication couldn't quite rid her off, there was a sense when he was in her mind that all it would take was one place psychic blow for her defences to crumble and for everything to unleash itself.

"I've already made my mind up, it didn't require that much thinking. The whole reason for coming here was to make peace with that part of my past in all it's aspects." The way Elliott emphasised the word 'all' made it pretty clear what his decision was. "If I don't do anything to investigate it now, I'll just start obsessing over what might be up there in my head, and therefore never really get over what happened. Which means there'd be no point in me coming back here, and dragging everybody along with me in the first place, and as far as getting closure goes this trip would be a failure. I'd rather have it confirmed one way or another, having that kind of memory gap as a Mindwalker, it's like a violation. It's hard to explain when you don't experience and re-experience memories like I do, but now that I know there's a gap, it's unbelievably disconcerting."

 

[MzHyde]

A lot of Kay's repressed memories were self repressed, and if Elliott had been in the room when they had the talk before it went south with Rinaa, he would have had some idea of what those repressed memories were all about, yet she was so convinced that some were no doubt ancestral/ Fee's that she couldn't access for whatever reason yet. It was something she tried to not think about much on as she knew it would just frustrate her to no end if she couldn't figure it out straight away. Yet she always appreciated that Elliott didn't press on those repressed memories, even though she was well aware that especially through the first one, he saw the dark male figure blurred out through a wall as they went to find the needed memories and thoughts to help join her and Fee together better.

Like Kay, Fia listened to Elliott's reply to Fia's options she gave. Hearing that he had decided to figure out if they were repressed memories and could be accessed wasn't that much of a surprise to either of them, knowing what a thorough person Elliott was and how juvh John he was when it came to not backing down when a decision got made. "didn't think you'd just leave it in the past" Fia commented fondly with a smile, knowing they were all the same in that regard, well, all except maybe for Kay in certain subjects. "well, you know whatever you decide we'll support you Elliott." Kay added, thinking he was better person than she was when it came to deciding such a thing. It was hard enough for her to vaguely tell John what had happened in her past, without having to say the actual words. She was convinced if she had to actually say the words 'sexual abuse' out loud she would throw up and understandably break down into messy sobbing.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John wasn't particularly surprised by Elliott's decision, as soon as Cliff had hypothesised that Elliott could use his MIndWalking powers to get answer John had seen the wheels begin to turn in his adopted son's head. He knew that when it came to confronting painful things on his own terms Elliott would rather do it all in one go so that he could have one period of mental turmoil as opposed to a long series of painful moments. It was a strategy that made plenty of sense to John as it was also the way he dealt with telling people about and accepting his own trauma. When other people forced him to talk about it John just dug his heels in and refused to give anything away. But when allowed to talk about it on his own terms, everything would just come out at once. His tendency to spew out everything was why he was so slow to trust, preferring to use his aura of snark, menace and generally acting like an aloof asshole to keep people at arms length. That way people didn't get to know about the darkness that lurked in his past and certainly couldn't use it against him.

"Yeah I get it." John said simply. Elliott had tried to explain on numerous occasions just how much his memories were like a physical part of him, but he'd never, even in the future managed to find the right words to explain just what his memories meant to him as a MindWalker, John had eventually settled with 'they're far more important to me than you could possibly understand, just trust me on this'. Which he did. "It was what I figured you were gonna do 'bout it." "I Think it's the right call, it would be eating you up if you didn't do at least something to get answers." Cal, Cliff and Jay all nodded their agreement, feeling that the others had already said between them everything they wanted to say on the subject.

A few minutes later Cliff broke the news that it was time to head back to the court for the second session of the day. Each day of a trial held in Attil's Supreme Global court was split into two halves- the morning half and the afternoon half each lasting anywhere between four and six hours depending on the judges and the lawyers. At Jay's insistence she paid part of the lunch bill, not taking no for an answer as she was the only one of them who could actually pay. Elliott had never got around to having a bank account- at twelve he hadn't seen the need preferring to squirrel his money away in various tins in his room. Said tins were now in the lock-up Cal owned, with the money still in them, Cal being unable to bring herself to spend it (she'd also nicked a large sum of cash from her father that kept her going for the first month or so and transferred her money out of her part of the family account to a completely new one that only she could access).

 

[MzHyde]

When Cliff broke the news they'd all need to head back if they were to make it back to the court room in time, both Fia and Kay nodded, having luckily well and truly finished their lunch until they felt more than satisfied with what they ate. If either of them had the right currency they probably would have done similar to Jay and offered to chip in even a little bit for the bill, being all too aware that they've had no choice but to let let everyone else pay for them the entire time which always made them feel slightly awkward, despite knowing the others were fine with it. It was partly why Kay insisted on cooking every once in a while to try and pay back in some way for such generosity that had been shown to their group.

Once everyone was good to go, they walked with everyone back to the supreme court, now starting to remember the route as they walked, finding it all familiar. Kay was convinced that she'd finally know her way round Attil the day they leave and it'd be the most pointless day to feel like she could walk around the city without any trouble. She put it down to a similar situation if someone goes on holiday and it's the last day of the vacation that they get the most comfortable in the place, only to find they have to head home and no doubt forget their way round by the time they next visit if they so wished. She knew when they got back to the court, they'd have to fully focus again for another few hours which meant she'd need to mentally prepare herself yet again, just as it was the same for Fia.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John was definitely of the same opinion as Kay when it came to how well he'd know the city by the time it finished. Thanks to his insomnia and walks in the dead of light he was already incredibly familiar with the military base town where Cal and Cliff lived. At first he'd stuck to routes he knew, mainly heading in the direction of the forge, but when it became clear the insomnia was here to stay for a while, he began to properly explore, even going so far as to, on one particularly restless night walk out as far as the military barracks where the squaddies were housed. For Elliott it had only taken one trip into the main city for his memories to come flooding back. As a kid he'd spent loads of time in the main town and a significant portion in the base town as it was undergoing redevelopment, making it ideal for practising magic in. He knew the place incredibly well, not much had changed in the years since he'd been there- some buildings had been modernised, but the layout remained the same.

Back in the court there was a buzzing undercurrent that could be felt amongst the lawyers on Elliott's side. earlier when the break had been called they'd all slumped in their seats in both relief and mental exhaustion, but now they were back to full spirits something that serious impressed Chas and only furthered the respect he was having for them. Even John was starting to see that these lawyers were of a very different calibre to the self-centred, manipulative, uncaring slimeballs he'd had the 'pleasure' of running into on Earth. But this rejuvenation wasn't what caught Jay's attention (in fact she'd expected such rejuvenation). No, that honour went to the two figures outside the door for the other side of the court.

"Ell, Cal, isn't that your father over there with the military courier?" She asked, stepping closer to Cal so the woman could hear her, at the same time discreetly indicating with her elbow the two figures in question. The courier was was male, dressed in black motorbike leathers and boots with a tight fitting military jacket on top with the patches characteristic of a military courier sewn on. His hair was such a vibrant shade of pink that it had to be fake, the lower half of their face was covered with a scarf. There was a serious looking pistol holstered on each hip, a bike helmet tucked under one arm and a large bulky satchel slung across their torso. The man next to him in the process of signing for the parcel, was, as Jay had correctly identified, Cal and Elliott's birth father. Even from this distance his high, angular cheekbones (which both Cal and Elliott had inherited) were strikingly clear. He had a lean runner's build, lightly tanned skin, brown hair in the process of being grown out and was dressed simply, and startling similar to Elliott- a plain white dress shirt and dark trousers.

 

[MzHyde]

Being back in the courtroom, it was clear to both Kay and Fia that the well earned break for lunch had done wonders not just for those spectators like themselves, but also the lawyers on both sides. They were like Chas and being utterly impressed at just how well they had bounced back from the beginning of the trial and wondered just how this second act was going to go. But they both had full faith that Elliott's team would do justice just as as they had proved so far.

When Jay spoke to Elliott and Cal about who was talking, they couldn't help but look in the direction that Jay was pointing toward with her elbow. Seeing what was clearly Cal and Elliott's birth father talking with a well covered up courier, but with incredibly bright hair, they raised an eyebrow in curiosity (which seemed to be a common occurance for them). "I wonder what he's up to. That's one hell of a large satchel slung over the courier's shoulders." Fia remarked quietly. If she was on Earth and it was a different scenario, she probably would have beldned into the crowd and tried to get close enough to eavesdrop on the chatter that was going on, to figure out what was going on. However, she wasn't on Earth and she didn't want to risk messing anything up for Elliott, so she remained firm footed in the spot she was currently at. "I dunno, but I get some serious suspicious vibes flying about it personally" Kay replied just as quietly, but made sure their group could hear, and only their group.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Cal and Elliott had enough self restraint that they didn't snap their heads around at the mere mention of their birth father. Instead they looked discreetly, confirming Jay's suspicions with monosyllables. "That's him alright." "Yeah, it is." Even if Elliott and Cal hadn't seen the man so recently they'd still be able to pick Zan out of a line up. While dark hair and prominent cheekbones were typical features for a Devra (Fia would have seen this for herself during her night out with Rinaa where she'd seen all kinds of combinations of of brown, black and dark blonde hair, sharp cheekbones and golden eyes amongst the people in the club). Zan's hair and cheekbones however, were atypical enough to be distinctive. His hair was closer to mid brown than it was dark brown, the kind of mid brown that might even turn slightly auburn if grown out long enough and his cheekbones were a completely different shape any others they'd seen. It was a striking appearance and on the more unconventional side of attractive.

Jay found the juxtaposition of the vibrant, fake pink hair which screamed 'look at me!' with the concealed face and body of the courier intriguing and slightly unsettling. Maybe it was having Elliott's father near him, but something wasn't chiming right about the situation, her brain screaming that she was missing something and should be on guard. All the courier's patches were correct though. "I agree, something is not right there" she said in a low tone, giving another suspicious glance at the pair. She was tempted to do what Fia was thinking and try to get closer and snoop on what was going on (not knowing that Fia was thinking about it), but decided against it as it would mean crossing to the other side of the court room where the face paint scar would make her stick out like a sore thumb. Instead she had to content herself with periodic glances as Zan filled in the relevant forms of clipboard (she'd counted at least four pages so far).

"Is it normal for him to get deliveries from military couriers?" John asked, directing the question at Elliott and Cal. even if their information on Zan was out of date, they were the only ones who could possibly know. While the siblings exchanged glances Cliff gave her thought. "Well it's certainly not illegal, I'll say that much. Couriers like that guy, they're usually used to transfer more classified objects and documents and he WOULD have the clearance necessary to send, receive and view such things." "He did get such courier deliveries when we were younger" Elliott said slowly. "Though it wasn't very often and we were never allowed to see what was in them." "I'm pretty sure the content either went into the safe or were incinerated. I always took arrival of a courier to mean bad news, he was always quieter after one arrived." Elliott looked at Cal, slightly surprised at her words, then nodded slowly in agreement as the memories came back. "Yeah, you're right. He was always a bit pre-occupied after one arrived."

 

[MzHyde]

With the confirmation that it was indeed Zan with the courier, just made Kay's alarm bells ring that much louder in her mind, yet she didn't express such concerns as she figured the last thing they needed was the hormonal one out of their group planting negative worries into all their minds, especially as she always prided herself on being observant and having a relatively good (but not perfect) track record of her instincts and first impressions. So she kept it at what she already had said, and left it to the others to go further with the topic if they wished. She did however feel slightly glad that she wasn't the only one not liking the feel of what they were witnessing, as Jay agreed something just wasn't right about this whole thing. She didn't notice just how pages Zan was signing, as she was too busy discreetly watching the whole situation u fold rather than focus on one small detail, even if it would prove valuable.

Fia had no idea that Jay was tempted to do the same thing as she was as neither of them actually moved a d chose to stay put where they were. Yet if she had known that was the case, she would have thought that Jay in her timeline had obviously taught her well if they were both thinking along the same lines, if they just didn't have the fake scar war paint marking down their faces. She also figured if she was to do a bit of scouting out to try and eavesdrop, she would have to tightly tie her hair back and find something to cover her hair as like the facial markings, her hair would also make her stick out greatly. At least on Earth, she could have used her appearance rune to change her hair colour to something much more plain and make her seem invisible to everyone else.

Both Kay and Fia listened to John ask the question that was reaching their own minds, curious if this normal or if it was something they'd have to be weary of. As Cliff explained what that type of courier was usually used for, it didn't seem that surprising considering how much this guy was going out of his way to hide his facial features, even if the fake pink hair counteracted all that effort. They then kept listening, and hearing that Zan would usually end up quieter and more aloof after receiving such mail, making his kids only think the worse of said mail did not sit well with either of them. "I really hope this isn't a bad omen then because I'm not liking what I'm seeing personally" Kay commented continously in an hushed tone.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John wouldn't have been that surprised if the pink hair was actually a wig. The way Cliff was describing the kind of things this courier carried he could see why this courier wouldn't want to be recognised by anybody. Carrying classified and/or dangerous objects for a living was bound to make you a target for somebody with nefarious purposes. The two pistols only acted as conformation to that theory, while John didn't know much about guns he'd seen Jay cleaning a weapon that looked pretty dang identical to the ones this guy had. Hearing Zan got these kind of deliveries sporadically when Elliott and Cal were younger John wasn't sure whether it was a good omen for them or not. If they distracted Zan to the point that both of them not only noticed, but remembered all these years later, then that suggested whatever was in them was serious. "You an' me both." John agreed with Kay.

Nobody else looked particularly put out or curious by what was going on. The rules of the court meant the courier and his weapons couldn't enter the room, hence why he was outside the room. "Well, by court law that courier can't deliver any kind of weapon, so that's a good thing. If I had to guess I'd say files, though what on I haven't the slightest". By now Zan had finished signing the multiple forms and passed the clipboard back to the courier who checked them then shrugged off the satchel and passed it over to Zan who slung the bag across his own shoulders. The two exchanged words then parted ways, Zan entering the courtroom and the courier pulling on their helmet, turning and heading for the building's exit.

Elliott, Cliff, Cal, Dan, Jay, John, Chas, Fia and Kay then made their way back to their seats in the court. Once seated Cal turned to her wife, speaking in a hushed but curious tone. "So, did you managed to lip-read anything?" she asked. "Not from the courier, the scarf made it impossible, but I did get something from your dad. Something about a meeting later, a mutual friend, and time seriously running out." Cliff replied, loud enough so that everybody in their group could hear.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay knew that out of everyone it would be John who would agree with her feelings the most. She knew how worried he was about losing Elliott in this whole fiasco, and knew from warnings just what to expect if it happened. Her attention turned to Cal when she spoke about how it csnt be a weapon as it couldn't be brought into the courtroom or delivered full stop, so it was one slight good point to take from what they witnessed before the courier made the exit and Zan headed to inside the courtroom. With the obvious fact that there was nothing they could do about Zan and what he was planning, they willingly went to their seats with everyone and sat down.

Hearing Cal asking Cliff if she caught anything of what was said by lip reading made Fia smirk ever so slightly, thinking it was such a typical move for Cal to make and found she too, was curious if Cliff caught anything. She knew Cliff could be capable of reading from such a distance as she learned that fact in her timeline, due to talking to her aunt on the phone and Cliff had seen her, which prompted her to ask Fia what the call was all about as it seemed like Fia was having a bit of a rant. That in turn, lead Fia talking with Cliff for a bit for another point of view before reemerging into the main room and bring social able with the family. Her and Kay listened to what Cliff caught, finding it interesting and worrying all at the same time. "I don't like the whole running out of time bit" Fia replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal was all too aware of just how phenomenal her wife's lip reading skills were over long distances. Part of it definitely came from the times the doctor had spent at the door of the forge watching. More often than not she took out her hearing aids to prevent any painful feedback loops occurring. She'd learned to read Dan and Cal's lips that way, often they'd be on the other side of the forge to her when they worked. Cal knew that if anybody in their group had gotten something it would be Cliff. The rest of the groups' lip reading was patchy at best and if it existed, limited to one language (usually their first language). What Cliff had gleaned was vague, the words could be referring to almost anything, and it went without saying that they lacked almost all the context of Zan's remarks. "It may SOUND ominous, but remember I have no context WHATSOEVER for the running out of time remark. For all we know he could be talking about a mortgage or unpaid bills."

Cal nodded at her wife's words, as easy as it was to cast her and Elliott's father in the role of villain, Cliff made a major and valid point. They didn't have the slightest clue what he was talking about and for all his failings, Zan was still a man with a life. "Cliff's right, we can't read into this too much. If we had the courier's side of the conversation then we could be definitive, but we don't so there's not much point in stressing and projecting onto what could be, like my wife said, something perfectly normal and not at all nefarious." Even though a few weeks had passed since the wedding it was clear in her tone that Cal still hadn't quite accepted the fact that she could call the woman she love her wife.

There were nods of agreement at the women's words. They couldn't let paranoia and trial induced stress get the best of them." I agree with you both" Jay nodded "as many issues as this group has with Zan, it's not him that's bugging me. There's something about that COURIER that's just not sitting right with me. There's something.... I don't know what... off about him. And it's not just that frankly appalling shade and style of hair." "I wouldn't be particular surprised if it was some kind of wig." Jay only nodded, but her nod made it clear she thought there could be something to that theory. "My gut says there's something not right about them. And my instincts are rarely wrong about this kind of thing."

 

[MzHyde]

If it was anyone else saying about not to read into the whole 'running out of time' remark, Fia probably would have scoffed at them and refused to believe it could very well be nothing. A small part of her still wanted to react that way, but as it was Cliff she took her word for it, especially as others were agreeing with Cliff, but even if it meaning of something harmless, the words still didn't sit well with her. She had a gut instinct that even without the context, it didn't sound too good, even if it was a case of running out of time to get Elliott justice and winning the trial. It wasn't that she didn't want to put Zan into the villain role, far from it as part of her was thinking it was all possible that he was meaning time was running out to save his son and do right by him, rather than anything sinister. Yet she also did agree that they couldn't let paranoia win in their minds.

She heard Jay out, understanding why someone like Jay would have more issues with the courier rather than Zan. At the comment about the hair of the courier, Fia had to smirk and almost snigger (almost sounded more like a scoff than a snigger) as she had to agree the hair was atrocious. She also thought it must be a wig as it felt too bright even for a hair dye job. "well I for one always trust your gut instincts Jay. Always have, always will and if you say something is off about the courier then there's something off about him" Fia told her, letting her and in return everyone know that she didn't just trust what Jay was saying, she felt the same way to some extent. "I guess that's just one more thing to add to the list for when we can deal with it. For now, we should focus on the second part of this day's trial before we make our minds metaphorically explode with even more information" Kay suggested. She too didn't like what she witnessed, but then for her she was aware it could just be her suspicious nature from her homeless days of being in fight or flight mode the whole time kicking in and making her feel like something was wrong with the picture they saw. Yet something told her it was being triggered in her mind for good reason.

 

[_gallifrog_]

A slight smirk came onto both Elliott and Cal's faces at the way Jay described the hair of the courier with such vehemence. In that moment seeing them side by side and smirking in the exact same way Cliff was momentarily taken aback by just how similar their smirks were. Before now she'd been able to see certain quirks of her wife's facial expressions mirrored in her brother in law, but this was the first time she'd seen them actually side by side doing it. Cal couldn't resist quipping at her brother "that's Jay's way of telling you that you should never dye your hair pink". Elliott responded in a very mature manner by giving back a childish retort in Attili while jabbing his sister in the ribs with his elbow, a gesture Fia would knew well having been on the receiving end of it a number of times. Elliott's elbows were deceptively pointy and bony and they could seriously bruise if he hit hard enough.

Jay just rolled her eyes in the siblings direction before turning to listen to what Fia and Kay had to say on the matter. A slight half smile flickered at the corner of Jay's mouth when Fia declared that she trusted Jay's instincts and always had. She'd known that she'd been a fairly important presence in the teenager's life in the future (as Elliott's partner and a friend of the extended family how could she not be?), but to hear that Fia respected her skills and instincts gave her a sort of glowy happy feeling inside. Jay was under no illusions about how hard of a person she was to trust and get through to so to know that Fia had breached that shell at least somewhat in the future was good news.

No sooner had Kay finished speaking than the judges and jury members walked back in. With the no talking rule now in force the others merely nodded at Kay's words before turning their attention back to the lawyers below. The second half of that day of the trial ended up being only a half hour shorter than the morning session. Once again the two sides engaged in verbal battle, both sides showing the same tenacity and skill as earlier. By the time the second half had finished the judges and jury had made their decision with regards to what exactly the aim of the trial was to be. It was Elliott's side who took the win, a monumental one that caused the whole middle section and prosecution section to erupt into cheering and whooping when it was confirmed that this wasn't just going to be a trial of the state's treatment of Elliott, but a trial of the state's treatment of all magic users.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was indeed all too used to seeing and having Elliott jab someone else in the side as a childish retort to something said toward him. She had experienced many many times and yet she never truly learned from it and would still tease the crap out of him and get jabbed over and over. Like Elliott, Fia was also rather bony in areas like her knees and elbows due to how naturally thin she was, having been blessed (or cursed whichever way someone looked at it) with Kay's genes and body shape. So seeing him do it to Cal made her smirk almost broadly, instead of eye rolling them like Jay did. As Jay gave a very small smile at her words, Fia took note of it, feeling glad that something she said actually made someone smile for once and not made them flip angrily at her. It took her a long while to not be terrified of Jay again after that trip to Rinaa's timeline and seeing the other Jay, so to see she wasn't angering Jay just helped boost her comfort in being around her all the more.

With everyone back in the room and the no talking rule firmly back in place, Kay remained silent in her chair, as did Fia as they listened to the second half of this long prelude of a trial. The respect for these lawyers on both sides was still very much there because of their stamina continuing to impress both women, yet it was when the judge ruled in Elliott's team's favour that the happiness just overtook both of them. Neither needed to be fully fluent in Attili to know what was ruled as the courtroom erupted into cheers, making the both of them smile broadly. "day one won to our side, bring on the full thing!" Fia beamed, under no illusions that they still had a long road ahead of them in this very courtroom. But in her eyes, it was a damn good firm start for them all.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Once again jay and Elliott's hands found each other and remained linked for the whole second half of the session. No words were exchanged between the two of them, both instead acting on instinct, wanting to give reassurance and seek comfort in the other. John on the other hand felt neither of those urges, so much of his brainpower being taken up with translating the Attili (as good as he was, unless he was to live on Attil for at least sixth months he'd probably never achieve fluency, though he had noticed how much easier it was for him to read the written language and he was beginning to be able to eavesdrop on strangers when they were in restaurants or were on the train) and understanding the jargon.

Even if they didn't understand a single word of the language when the court room erupted into cheers it was blatantly obvious which side had taken that first crucial victory. All those standing and cheering were either in Elliott's section or bearing the face paint/war paint/lipstick copy of Elliott's scar. As soon as the call was made both John and Jay wrapped Elliott in a massive sandwich of a hug. Neither John nor Jay were casual huggers by nature, Jay because of her past being tortured and John because hugging required a level of intimacy he only had with a very select few people. But this was one of those times where they couldn't help but do it. Anything the others said would have been drowned out in the cacophony of noise. But as they left the court room all had massive grins on their faces and felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off their shoulders. that elation lasted the whole train journey back to the apartment. All the Attili speakers (including John) were chatting a mile a minute giving their thoughts on the day and gesticulating wildly in the process. Chas wasn't speaking as much as the others, as his grasp of the language wasn't so good, but every so often he'd come in with something.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was desperate to hug her brother but this was a time for Jay and John to do the hugging and she knew she'd have her moment to do so later on. As they left and were on the train, Fia couldn't grab hold of much that was being spoken because of how fast it was being spoken so she spent the train journey speaking in English with Kay and Chas I stead to express her joy for what they just witnessed. It was truly the only way she could maintain any kind of dignity as she knew if she didn't just speak her joy and excitement, she probably would have spent the train journey biuncing up and down on the seat and just squealing like a hyperactive child that was uncontrollable.

Kay really felt just like everyone no doubt did that they'd made a really significant first step for getting justice for Elliott and for all magic users on Attil. She had no objections with Fia talking about everything as she too was willing to do a lot of talking until they got back to the apartment. She also was thankful for Fia talking as she knew there'd be no way she'd manage to keep up with everyone talking in Attili at a hundred miles a minute, or so it came across to her. She revelled in the joy and positivity that radiating from their group, as it felt so different to the usual happiness that that been flowing between their group. It felt momentous and so much larger than themselves.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John couldn't quite keep up with everything being said by the native speakers and those who were fluent in it as a second language. He'd never had to speak at or listen to Attili being spoken at such speeds before, and was at first stunned by what seemed to be just a string of syllables spewing forth from Cal and Elliott's mouth, but after a few minutes of it his ear gradually became accustomed it and he began to properly follow the conversation and became confident enough in his language skills that he could join in properly. Calling the group elated was an understatement. Even though it was just the first day of many, what they'd achieved was truly monumental, having set the ball rolling to get justice for everybody. As much as Elliott wanted the failure of the system to protect him to be acknowledged, what was the use of his case being brought to light and trailed if it did nothing for all the other millions like him whose plight went unnoticed in the Attilian solar system? So hear the court ruling that this was about every oppressed magic user in Attil's sphere of influence blew him away. The full depth probably hadn't fully sunk in yet and Elliott was half expecting to wake up in the middle of the night with the realisation of 'holy shit, we actually achieved that!' going through his head.

Dan was the first to break off from the group, declining Cal's offer of coming back with them all to the apartment and continuing their post-trial dissection, saying he should check that Simeon and the temporary workers hadn't accidentally blown it up in excitement. There was a sarcastic and teasing note in his tone making it clear that he didn't think such a thing had possibly happened as he knew that despite being the youngest of the three main forge workers, Simeon was mature for his age and very reliable. Cal also knew that the hidden meaning in Dan's words was that he wanted to tell his two brothers the news. Both Tomaz and Andy still lived on the triplets birth planet and it took a ridiculously long time for a signal to get there, so Dan wanted to send his message with enough time that the response would arrive before the second day of the trial started. Back at the apartment everybody flopped down across the couches and on various chairs, most too buzzed to consider sleeping for at least the next few hours (and in John's case he expected the euphoria combined with his insomnia would be enough to keep him awake the whole night).

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay were both still so elated like the others were that there was no way they'd be going to sleep just yet. Kay had a feeling she'd be one of the first to call it a night eventually, but for now in her eyes it was a time for digesting everything together in the comfort of the apartment. Fia was truly still excitable about the news with everyone else, and for once thought she'd be one of the last to call it a night and wouldn't be surprised if she ends up staying up with John for once. At the apartment, she made a beeline for sitting on Elliott's other side, deciding that everyone got the chance to hug him and show him some kind of pride and support from the news, except for her so she wanted to get in her time with her brother whilst she could. Sat down, she looped her arms round his arm and hugged him from the side, resting the side of her face on his shoulder which in her time was quite a normal sight to witness.

Fia's actions didn't go amiss on Kay in the slightest, figuring it would hsve happened at some point, and wondered what took Fia so long to get in her hugs with her brother. She was pretty sure she would never tire of seeing Fia so proudly affectionate toward Elliott, finding that such pictures gave her hope that her and John's future (and in turn Fia's and Elliott's mostly) would be okay and have that strong sense of positivity and bond between them all. Because of John's insomnia phase, Kay always took the opportunity to be beside him when they were both awake, not to mention it had become second nature to just find herself sat next to him more often than not, even if it wasn't all the time. "what a day...and all going in the right direction far" Kay commented as she relaxed back into the couch.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott was somewhat surprised by the way in which Fia was hugging him. Judging by comfortable Fia looked, he guessed that this was her preferred way to hug him back in her own timeline. He certainly wasn't complaining about it though. Elliott didn't consider himself a particularly huggy person as a kid, but spending a year on his own drifting through space made him realise that he really did miss the platonic touch of another person . It was part of the reason he liked hanging out watching movies or gaming with AJ and Toby so much, both were the kind to sprawl out with limbs everywhere and not care if they ended up flinging said limb over whoever was next to them. It certainly made a pleasant change from John who was essentially figuring out parenting through trial and error and didn't always pick up on Elliott's subtle clues unless Elliott himself made the first move (though he was getting better at it). Cal now had a wife Hugging Jay was practically like asking to get your face caved in by her fist, but recently Elliott had found an exception. If the assassin fell asleep next to him or on his shoulder she would eventually curl up right against him, perfectly content to be held by Elliott or to hold him. Rinaa had been even worse than Jay in a way, wanting to be hugged, but not able to let her guard down enough to allow it to happen. So Elliott decided he was going to make the most of this moment with his other sister.

John propped his feet up on the coffee table then sank back into the couch. "Agreed. Finally we got something good out of this whole thing. And actual proof that things are going well as opposed to just speculatin' about it." On the other couch Jay did the same thing with her feet which were clad in a pair of sneakers that were the exact same shade as her shoes. When the group had been shopping for wedding outfits Jay had picked up her current outfit, knowing she'd need something respectable for the trial. "Winning the first battle in a trial as major as this one, it's one MASSIVE morale booster, for the legal lot and for us." Jay agreed. "If they can win this first battle then we've got more than a fighting chance of winning the whole thing." "Indeed, Alex knows most of the team by reputation and they're really living up to them. They were incredible and far more tenacious." "They really didn't let any ground go did they?" "No they didn't, if they continue to be that determined and unyielding and we win this thing, I'm nominating them all for a knighthood or medal of outstanding service or something"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia took a chance hugging Elliott in the way she did, but something just told her that even in this time Elliott wouldn't mind if she clung onto him in a casual 'get comfortable' on the couch hug, and she would be perfectly fine doing such an action. She knew in this time through observing over the weeks being here that he didn't get many hugs from others because neither Jay or Rinaa were willing to show such affection in front of others when they were awake, yet she also noticed many times that if they did curl up to Elliott, he wouldn't push them away. She also had the mindset of 'well, he's gonna have to get used to a younger sibling be like this on him at some point!'. It's not like no one in the group was oblivious to how much she loved her brother after all, so she saw no point in hiding it and as sad as it was to think, she did think that now Rinaa wasn't around, she had a bit more space to actually do such things without feeling like she was taking anything away from Rinaa.

Kay nodded in agreement at John's words, having thought the same thing the whole journey back from the court, that this initial win was something tangible to hold onto firmly, even more so than any of the positive news they had before the trial came up. She looked around the room as she always did when everyone else spoke, listening and agreeing with every word that was being spoken. There was no doubt about it, that team of Elliott's were definitely proving the speculations and rumours about them to be firmly true. She even had to smile at Elliott's words, seeing exactly why he would think such a thing. "they certainly deserve something of that caliber" Fia agreed from her cosy position. "if I could, I'd say today was worthy of a good drink, but alas I'm not as lucky as you lot" Kay smirked, her tone lighthearted.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal and Cliff both nodded vigorously at Elliott's suggestion that should they achieve victory the legal team should be nominated for an award of such calibre. The work they were doing was more than incredibly and if it went wrong they were not only risking their careers, but running the chance of becoming targets of either a hate campaign of pissed off people on Elliott's side or some dark force of the Attilian government who wished to 'tidy up all the lose ends'. John was also in agreement with that statement, though if you told him a few months ago that he'd be nominating a legal team for an incredibly prestigious award he would have snorted in the person's face and said they'd lost their mind, But what he'd seen today, all these people fighting on Elliott's behalf, it had change his opinion on lawyers (though only those from off world).

"If they don't an award of that prestigious calibre after a successful outcome I'll give them mine." Cliff added with a smile, while her remark was really directed at Cal, all the others would be able to hear it. "You're not the only one whose not drinking in this room y'know." Elliott told Kay, he hadn't ever explicitly told her that he didn't drink, but he suspected that John or Chas would have mentioned it at some point or another or Kay herself would have noticed that at the wedding he didn't drink and whenever alcohol was offered to him he turned it down and put two and two together and figured it out herself. "But it's certainly worth celebrating this victory, hopefully the first of many." "Even if you weren't pregnant, I wouldn't be letting you near this stuff, it'd melt your brain" Jay added, pulling out a bottle of the same dark amber liquid she'd been drinking after Rinaa had left, the stuff that Cliff had declared was physically unsafe for any of them to drink due to it's incredibly potent nature (unless they mixed it with a serious amount of non-alcoholic liquid). "As it stands the only way I'd let any" she made a semi-circular motion with her hand as she pointed at all of the assembled group "of you lot near this is if you needed to make a Molotov cocktail."

 

[MzHyde]

When Cliff said about giving the lawyers her prestigious award, Fia was the one who rose an eyebrow as she overheard it, deciding that if it didn't come up into conversation, at some point she would be asking about it herself as she was now curious to what it was exactly that Cliff had and how she got it. She loved learning about her extended family, so Cliff was no different at all. Yet the conversation carried on and the mention of drinking came up which distracted Fia utterly, smirking at Elliott's retort, knowing he wasn't a drinker. She was about to make some smart ass remark to Elliott about Kay when Jay spoke up and declared she wouldn't let any of them near the particular alcohol she had been drinking before.

Kay did know that Elliott didn't drink, as she had noticed it for herself, especially at the wedding and at The House that one time when he chose not to go for alcohol, so she just guessed he wasn't a big drinker or drank at all. So she gave him the 'touché' look, realising that she should have probably included him in her statement, but she just didn't think much of her words. At the mention of molotovs Fia's smirk from moments before turned into a grin that just screamed she was getting ideas. "and now Fia has ideas in her head.." Kay remarked shaking her head smiling. "you say that like I'd particularly need molotovs to do any damage to something" Fia retorted back in a matter of fact tone. "and now I'm thinking we should be all very scared about your brain or never leave you unattended.. But with someone who wouldn't encourage you" Kay came back at her with, smirking.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay just snorted and rolled her eyes at Fia's piqued interest. "You definitely DON'T need to know how to make 'em" she said firmly. "And I certainly wouldn't teach you to to make 'em either. Which applies to all of you" she gestured at everybody in the room, before directing her words back at Fia. "There's no need for you to know, you've already got fire damage MORE than covered through your bloodline." What Jay didn't say (and kept any inklings that she was thinking such thoughts out of her tone) was 'and we've all seen the kind of damage your lot can do with phoenix flame without the aid of a Molotov'. They'd all glimpsed Rinaa's back scars at some point after the beans were spilled as to how her fear of fire was acquired. "Molotovs are devastatingly effective and really only the kind of thing you'd use as a last resort in a guerilla war and I don't want to see the remains left behind after one again."

Sensing that Jay was speaking from experience about the damage done by Molotov cocktails and not wanting to risk the euphoric mood being brought down, Chas decided to address Cliff's almost throw-away remark from earlier, the same remark Fia had also been intrigued by. "Never mind Molotovs, what's this about a prestigious award?" he asked, directing his gaze firmly at the doctor. Cliff, understanding the cabbie's intentions about moving the conversation back to safer territory gave a bashful shrug. "It was about a year ago and I was stationed off world for a while, which is fairly typical as an army doctor. There'd been a horrific attack on a space station, a jump gate station similar to the one we went through to get to my homeworld. I was one of the doctors involved with the relief efforts."

Cal gave her wife a look, narrowing her golden eyes ever so slightly. "That's not the whole story" she said, her tone laced with a slight accusatory edge. Cliff shook her head slightly, the beginnings of a blush appearing on her face. "That bit's not important." Cal shook her head in a long suffering that quite clearly said that this was far from the first time Cliff had tried to brush off her medal worthy achievement. "They gave you a medal for it, therefore it's incredibly important." When the doctor didn't say anything Cal took matters into her own hands. "My wife" she declared, the pride blindingly obvious in her tone "wasn't just PART of that relief effort, she organised it of her own initiative as soon as she heard about it. She coordinated the rescue staff and medical teams, while at the same time doing her job as a doctor, saving who knows how many lives while working ridiculously long shifts. That's why she got the highest medal out of all the others involved."

 

[MzHyde]

When Jay also declared that there was no way Fia was to learn about molotovs or how to make them, Kay felt highly relieved that the woman was on her side on the subject. The idea of knowing how to do such a task was the last thing on Kay's mind, and she hoped it would be on pretty much everyone's minds as well. She gave Fia the look that said 'see, even Jay agrees with me' which to her was quite a big thing. She too knew she didn't need Jay to say anything about Rinaa's burn scars to make her think of such a situation, nor did she need to say anything either. She just wanted the subject to change so when Chas did change it by asking a completely unrelated question, she felt extremely thankful.

Fia just gave the eye roll that said 'yeah yeah..i get it, no teaching me fire related weapons when I am one' before her interest quickly got turned around as Chas asked the question she herself wanted to ask Cliff. She listened with great interest, sensing there was so much more to the story than Cliff was giving them, so with Cal pretty much not letting it drop until the full story was told, Fia felt more and more intrigued. "that's incredible Cliff! You really shouldn't be so modest about something like that! That's something I think all of us can agree is something worthy of being smug about!" she commented. "what she said, that's amazing Cliff" Kay agreed wholeheartedly.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott had known that there was far more to the story than was Cliff was letting on when the doctor said she'd only helped out with the relief effort. Sure it was a great thing to do (that he wasn't denying), but that wouldn't be enough to warrant the kind of prestigious medal he'd specified to earlier. So when Cal called her wife out on not telling the full story, Elliott wasn't even the slightest bit surprise. Everybody in the room unconsciously leaned their bodies towards the two women so they wouldn't miss anything being said. Seeing that the doctor was already blushing, Jay took it as a sign that doctor knew all too well how amazing an achievement it was, but was the kind of person who really wouldn't brag about it, another thing that confirmed her opinion that Cliff was probably the best person in the room in terms of morals and modesty (though Chas was also up there).

"Bloooody Helllls" was (unsurprisingly) John's initial reaction to Cal's words. He drew out both words slightly to convey that he was seriously impressed. He'd heard Cliff's incredibly high opinion of rescue workers before, but to hear she coordinated them while at the same time working? He could see why she got a medal for that. "That's unbelievable that you did all that, your wife's right about that part being the important bit of the story." Chas added, nodding in agreement. "I agree with all of them, you should be incredibly proud of that- you went above and beyond in the best way possible." Jay also knew Cliff's high opinion of rescue workers and had no problems pointing out that Cliff had taken on that role. "As you yourself say and said to the kid, helping out on such rescue crews is one of the most phenomenal and selfless things somebody can do- risking your life for a stranger. But helping out with the relief effort AND running said effort? That's on a whole different level."

"Yeah well..." Cliff shrugged, a very slight smile of pride playing at the corner of her mouth (the most pride she'd let herself show about what she'd done). "It's not exactly the kind of thing you can just shove into a normal conversation or when you're introducing yourself for the first time." Cliff protested. "If the first thing you'd heard from me upon arriving on this planet was 'Hi my name's Clarissa, most call me Cliff. I'm a doctor, I'm deaf and also I won a medal for prestigious service' I'd have come across as a right arsehole. I've dealt with enough arsehole doctors who brag non stop about their achievements that I have NO intention of becoming THAT person. Though I probably came across as ridiculously nosy with that question about whether Rinaa was related to Elliott, though obviously you all know why I asked it now."