Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

The look on John's face as he read the file (along with the matching reactions of Fia and Kay) was enough to have the others crowding over to look at the file. It was all too clear that this wasn't just some elaborate ruse on Zan's part to elicit sympathy from them, this genuinely was what had happened to him. It was completely understandable why he'd use this as blackmail, Dakkon had made one hell of a fuck up in choosing to break (or maybe just plain old ingore) the protocol when attempting to recruit teenaged Zan. Like John it took Cal and Elliott a few moments to actually recognise that the angry teenager in the picture was indeed their father. (For a brief moment Elliott was reminded of the photo of Rinaa they'd seen in the safe house where the girl had been glaring at the camera with a similarly murderous expression). Neither sibling had realised that Zan had surgical scars hidden under his hair, but it made complete sense- the man had neural implants after all and when they'd been put in neither the tech nor the surgery had been as advanced as they were now. Both couldn't help but stare at the side of his head, looking for the scar lines through his hair.

John could see now that he'd got things the complete wrong way round. He felt utterly sickened by what he'd just done, knowing that if somebody had said something along the lines of what John had about Zan's experience but about the time the mage had spent in Ravenscar John would have completely flipped his lid. For the first time he could see in Zan's expression what everybody else must have been seeing in his own last night- the hatred, the annoyance, the 'I'm holding myself back from punching you in the face because of everybody else in the room, but boy do I really want to'. It wasn't a pleasant thing to be on the receiving end of. He may not want Zan to like him, but he also didn't want the man to think he was a complete and utter insensitive arsehole either who went around devaluing other's experiences. He could live with being described as a bit of a bastard yes, but not as that kind of arsehole. This had happened to Zan years before Cal had even been born, so in John's mind it wasn't a betrayal of principles to apologise for what he'd said. "That's seriously fucked up, it shouldn't have happened to ya. And I shouldn'ta said that."

Zan gave a curt nod in response to Kay's words. He could tell she really did mean them, it wasn't just some platitude being hauled out because it was the socially acceptable thing to do. The shock and horror on the woman's face when she read the warnings at the top of the file had been genuine. John's apology however was less straight forwards. The man meant it, he really hadn't intended to be so dismissive of Zan's past, but at the same time John was making it clear that all was very much not forgiven when it came to the other things Zan had done in his life. Which was fair enough he supposed. It was clear that John really did care about Elliott and had done a damn fine job of bringing him up, probably a better one than he himself would have done Zan couldn't help but think. His reply to the apology was a narrowed eye look and a nod that he knew the other man would understand- 'apology accepted, but no need for the status quo to change'.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia knew in their hearts that no one in the room of their group would think John that much of an arsehole to the point he'd dismiss someone else's plight and horrors from one's life. Yet they also knew that this won't change his opinion of the man overall. If they did they'd be greatly naive, they all knew better than that. Unlike how Rinaa was with Fia's own problems growing up, John never once dismissed another person's hardships or compared them to his own to make his sound so much worse. His apology though still made both Fia and Kay proud of him for not keeping his apology to himself and giving it where it was very much due. They both also noticed how it was their reactions with John's that made them all come over and look at the file, to see for themselves just how bad it was to elicit such a dramatic reaction from the three of them.

Although it was curt, Kay knew Zan could tell that her own remark was genuinely meant, which she was ever so thankful for. She didn't want their reaction to the discovery to be taken as complete bull or faked, causing another rift to blow up in their faces. She was more thankful however for the fact that Zan accepted John's apology and knew that it didn't change anything between the men, but John wasn't going to just not own up to his fuck up. She may not have known that Zan was thinking what a fantastic job John had done bringing up Elliott and how much he cared for him, but she knew everyone in their group knew it and that was the important thing to her. Fia just let her parents give their versions of apologies or sympathy, she herself just nodding in that 'what they said' manner. Eventually she did however speak up, "there anything you two need to know?" she asked Cal and Elliott, more curiously than anything else. "I'm going to get some air for a few minutes..." Kay quietly said to John as he was the closest to her. The file really did shake her a bit, mostly because she was hormonal more than anything else. But she didn't want to just walk out without saying anything as she didn't want anyone to be worried.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John was relieved that Zan accepted his apology (he hadn't meant to be such an arse about what Zan had been through), but a greater source of relief was Zan's look that said 'this doesn't mean anything else has changed between us' which was the greater source of relief. It seemed that he and Zan shared the opinion of not wanting to get close to the other man- and certainly not become smoking buddies like Elliott had quipped about earlier. And without ever having discussing it, the man had just seamlessly accepted that neither Elliott nor Cal were his kids in any way other than blood. He was an outsider and had accepted that position. The two men didn't need to be pally with one another, or put on an act for the benefit of the children, they just needed to not beat the shit out of each other- an arrangement that suited both perfectly. John gave a nod at Kay's words. Under more normal circumstances it was a fifty-fifty chance whether he'd follow her, but right now he was staying- the look on both Elliott and Jay's faces told him that the two had questions, and he didn't want to miss out on anything.

"So.... last night? Did I trigger anything?" Jay asked first. It was listed on teenage Zan's files that one of his triggers was having guns put in his face, which was exactly what she'd done the night before. The assassin's intention had been to intimidate him, not force him to relive what was probably the most traumatic event of his childhood years. There were moral lines Jay didn't cross, even when it came to people like Zan (people she couldn't claim to trust nor like much) and the kind of protocal breach that Dakkon had done was one thing she would never do. Like John, she didn't want to unintentionally put her foot in things, nor exacerbate somebody's trauma. Zan shook his head in response, and Jay had to hold back the massive sigh of relief as that weight was taken off her shoulders. "No you didn't, you were at the wrong side and pointing at the wrong place to trigger flashbacks. Maybe a bit more panic and existential anxiety than in a normal person..." He gave a shrug, which Cliff recognised as the 'I'm being brutally honest here' kind of shrug she'd get from various patients she'd worked with. "Had it been teenage me or me ten-eleven years ago that you were putting a gun in the face of, it would have been a different story. But right now, I have the post traumatic stress almost completely under control..... Page four" he added with a look at Cliff. It was written all over the doctors face that she wanted to do nothing more than have a look at his complete medical records, but her respect for ethics and confidentiality was stopping her. She wasn't Zan's doctor and so without his permission, couldn't look at the documents. She gave him a look of 'are you sure?' to which the man nodded and signed 'yes I am'.

While Cliff took up the file and carefully flicked to the aforementioned page Elliott asked the burning question on his mind. "All that trauma? Was that why you never let me in your mind when I was a kid?" Zan nodded. "Yes, that's exactly why. It may have been buried, but you were a curious kid and with some poking and prodding you'd have found something- no doubt something horrific. And given bot how and advanced and how potent your MindWalking abilities were at that age, I doubt any of my mental defences would have lasted that long." Elliott nodded, slowly, Zan not wanting him exposed to such traumatic memories as a kid was a sound reason. As a MindWalker he often didn't just see traumatic memories, he felt them too, so he not only approved, but agreed with Zan's decision, even if at the time he really hadn't understood it. It was the fact that Zan thought he'd be able to bypass mental defences at such a young age that he couldn't quite grasp. "But I wasn't that powerful as a kid, I might have found something by accident, but blasting down defences? I don't think I was capable." "No, you very much were." Zan replied, utter certainty in his tone. "You're an extremely powerful MindWalker- the most powerful born in at least the last hundred and fifty years, top 97th percentile they reckoned. Most can't hold Mindscapes together until they're in at least their late teens, early twenties, you could do it at age seven and manipulate them. It's suspected to be something to do with you're secondary amplification ability- that without knowing it you turn it on yourself and that's why you used to get so drained you'd pass out after too long a session. Or does that still happen?" There was a genuine curiosity in Zan's voice as he asked, and that, combined with the brief nod that Dan gave signifying that his empathic powers said Zan was telling the truth that made Elliott answer truthfully. "Still happens, but not as badly if I eat massive amounts of food beforehand."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay have John a fond pat on the shoulder of 'I'll be fine, stay put' as she turned and headed to the front door, which she opened and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. For once (and probably the very first time since knowing and bonding to John) she didn't want him to follow her. She wanted him to stay behind and hear what else was to be said between Zan and everyone else, which was why she gave him the signal pat she did. She did feel fine after all, she just quite literally needed a breath if fresh air to just clear her mind in peace for a few moments before either everyone else was done and came out, or she went back inside. If she truly started feeling off kilt she would just given a text to one of them saying as such, and she trusted they all knew her well enough to know she would do that. She had accepted that there would be times when she needed to break from heavy moments, and she knew she would be respected for that.

Fia glanced when her mother decided to take a moment out for herself, and she couldn't say to fully understand her mother's reasons for it (having been out the room when her mother had ever spoken of her own post traumas and her father's) but she did just presume it was because of her hormones and knew somehow that Kay would be okay on her own. As the others asked their questions, she listened intently, curious to what Zan's replies would be to Jay and Elliott's questions. Knowing that the man in front of them did have suicidal tendencies, she was also glad that nothing that Jay did the night before set him off a downward spiral in a drastic way. She didn't want any of their group to be the cause of Zan taking his own life, no matter which one of them it was. She also found herself curious and interested in what he had to say about Elliott's question surrounding his mind walking ability.

She as his younger sister, always knew and respected just how powerful Elliott was when it came to being a mind walker, but she never knew he was that powerful even at such a young age. It almost made her feel even more proud of her brother and what he could do, respecting him all the more. All she did know was about Elliott needing to still eat a butt load of food before going into someone's mind so he wouldn't pass out afterwards.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John was firmly on Elliot's side when it came to whether or not young Elliott would have been able to break through such mental walls. He'd only known Elliott's powers as they were when Ell was teenager, and they'd been impressive alright, but by that point Elliott was mature and aware enough not to go poking around in the darker depths of somebody's mind for the hell of it. He knew adult Elliott could break down mental walls, but being able to do so so short a while after his powers had manifested in the first place? That seemed a bloody tall order to John. With similar powers on Earth- telepaths or psychics in particular- it took years and years to fully control ones powers and manipulate them.

The certainty in Zan's voice, the belief he had that young Elliott could in fact have done such a thing, caught them all off guard, all eyes turning to the man to listen to what he had to say. Strangely Zan was the most qualified person in the room to talk about MindWalkers- Cliff didn't need such in-depth knowledge of powers for her medical work (she only needed to know about how people with certain powers would react to certain treatments), Jay hadn't grown up around them as MindWalkers were a very rare group indeed and everything John knew he knew from Elliott (who'd figured out quite a lot of it by trial and error). It was the fact about mindscapes that shocked Elliott the most, for him they'd always been second nature to form, he'd never needed to be taught how to make them or how to control them, he just knew instinctively. He'd been told as a kid that his abilities were 'above average' but this was the first time he'd heard how above average they were.

John wasn't ashamed to gape at Zan's words. Elliott being a) the most powerful Mindwalker born in at least a hundred and fifty years and b) being better than 97% of all other MindWalkers was a hell of a lot to take in as well as a hell of a lot to be proud about. John knew he would be thinking of both Elliott and his powers very differently from now. "Well bugger me sideways" he said, the fact he was both impressed, shocked and not doubting a word Zan said was written all over his face. "And I thought I was the powerful one." Cal smirked, there was no malice in her tone, but her words were true. She'd never known any of this either and there was a long running debate between elemental based powers and mind manipulated based ones over which was more powerful. "And you are." Zan replied, the same certainty in his tone. "In terms of pyrokinetics, you're right up there in the top levels as well. And with such a strong driadic bond and a partner of matching ability you'll only have become more powerful theses past few years. I couldn't say you is more powerful, nor would I want to, it really depends on the situation." There was a very slight amused look on his face as he spoke.

Outside of the apartment it was mostly quiet, by now most others who lived in Zan's block had returned home for the night (of for the minority who worked the night shift they'd headed out). Passing certain apartments Kay would be just about able to make out the sound of televisions. From one apartment the sound of a rowdy family seeped out onto the corridor. There was only one person on the corridors, a man, fully engaged with typing on his phone and bopping his head along to whatever it was he was listening to on his earbuds. He was one of those people who'd mastered the art of typing on their phone while still remaining aware of their surroundings and walked up the stairs to the next floor without tripping up, his fingers taping methodically on the screen.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia found it just as mind blowing as John did about Elliott's power. She never realised just what the true power of control it was he had, even if he didn't know it himself. If she remembered anything from this trip back in time when she went home, she hoped it was this bit of information and she could grill Elliott on it. She definitely had a lot more respect for him and his power now she had learned this from Zan. She couldn't help but smirk ever so slightly at Cal's little quip about her being the powerful one, having always seen Cal as such. It also didn't entirely surprise her to hear that it entirely depended on the situation for who out of Cal and Elliott would be more powerful. It honestly made sense that it would depend on such a thing like a particular situation for who would really shine through and prove just how powerful they were. "basically you're as good as each other whilst also knowing there are times that either one of you will truly be badass more so than the other." Fia summarised with a smile. She presumed that if she had a blood sibling, it would possibly be the same scenario with her, that she would be better at something than the other in some things, but not others but she also knew a sibling would never ever ever happen. Besides, she was happy just being the younger sometimes annoying sibling of Elliott!

As she waited outside, glad to be taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, she kept out of the way of the few residents of the block as they passed her by, whilst taking in the area. It still reminded her of the grotty areas of Earth and hoe those areas made her feel less than safe, even if this area wasn't nearly as bad. She also found herself shaking thoughts out of her head as the last time she walked out of a building for some air on her own, she was taken. She had almost forgotten how the kidnapping occurred until she stepped out right now. "for fucks sake Kay...keep your mind under control" she cursed at herself under her breath. "you came out here for fresh air, not to dredge up the past" she complained, making herself take some more deep and slow breaths before getting the thoughts out of her head as best she could by thinking of how it was going inside. She couldn't hear any shouting or fighting going on, so she presumed it was all going relatively okay.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Logically Elliott and Cal knew it very much depended on the situation when it came to who was more powerful, but at the same time they were siblings and liked to be competitive about things. Cal would always have age to hold over her brother, while Elliott these days had height (it was only a centimetre or two, but still, it was something his sister didn't have). Both nodded at Fia's summary. "Yeah that's exactly it." Cal replied while Elliott settled for a shrug and saying "in other words, nothing much has really changed." It was now Elliott's intention to do some serious research into what exactly those elite MindWalkers of the past could do and attempt it for himself. He hadn't been reserved as such about developing his powers when living on Earth, but there was no literature there about MindWalkers, so Elliott's discoveries of the boundaries of his powers had been mostly trial and error. Here on Attil however he'd have access to almost all things he could think of that would help him further enhance his powers.

Noting the faint look of amusement on Zan's face, Cal couldn't help but question why it was there. "What's so funny about this?" she asked, in a tone filled with more curiosity than malice. "Just thinking about back at those parent teacher meetings where there'd always be those parents bragging and boasting about how their kids were a) the most powerful in their class, if not the school and b) the high strength of said kid's powers were because of some really strong genetic line." He rolled his eyes, making it quite clear he hadn't and still didn't believe a word of it, while at the same time as Cliff snorted at the stupidity of it. "That's almost COMPLETE SHIT, genetics have very little to do with powers, UNLESS it's a race specific power. For Devra and my people, it's a completely different set of cells that control powers- through a process that's extremely randomised. The only reason there's these concentrated lines of specific power in royalty is because they can afford to have illegal power-doping treatments to change, strengthen or suppress certain powers." Zan nodded in agreement with her words. "Couldn't agree more. I always wanted to punch one of those idiots and explain that they were completely wrong. If the genetic thing was true then neither of these two would be anywhere near as powerful as they are given that their mother was extremely low-level and I'm Null."

 

[MzHyde]

In her time Fia just thought and took it for granted that her assumption of Elliott having powerful mind walking abilities and being stronger than he was in this time. Now being in this time, she could see it was moments like this that ere threading things together to make him be at the level he is in the future and that it must have been from this moment, being on Attil that made him really focus on his ability and master it even more than he already had. Seeing that Zan had a look of amusement, she couldn't help but briefly raise an eyebrow and lower it again out of curiosity, feeling glad that Cal also picked up on such a look on his face and asked about it. She listened to Zan's reply finding it utterly bizarre that there was such moments in school life and still finding it baffling to a certain extent that there were places in the universe where one could brag about either having powers, or knowing someone with said powers. So she couldn't resist listening with interest at the comment and the reply that Cliff gave.

Hearing that it was indeed bullshit about the gene remark unless its a race thing, it got her wondering if that was the case with her, that it was because of her bloodline of the phoenix race that made her such the quick learner and naturally powerful when she combined her phoenix ability with her mage abilities, or if it was just sheer fluke, making her a rarity in that regard, more so than she was already was. If she was around just her group she would have probably asked about it but she didn't want Zan knowing what she was or what Kay was, not knowing if he already knew or not, but always assumed he didn't, which suited her perfectly fine. She also found it intriguing that considering how strong Cal and Elliott's powers were, their birth parents were very low level or had no powers really at all. It once again showed her just how different she was to the two of them, and not just them, but nearly everyone. A difference that she was equally proud of and ashamed of depending on the moment or her mood. She also would have to admit to herself that apart from learning magic, she always thought other abilities was an inherited thing so for her this was a big life lesson to a certain extent.

Outside the apartment, Kay found herself continuing to glance around before pulling her phone out and playing on it to try and keep her mind grounded after her mind decided to rudely remind her of her last moment alone for air. She could feel the chill in the air beginning as she tried to ignore it, pretending it wasn't getting cooler. She knew she'd have to go inside soon again if it really came to it, but as much as she now anxious about being on her own, she was enjoying feeling the lighter atmosphere than the tension that was inside.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John and Jay were the only ones in the room who hadn't known before now that Zan was a Null, Elliott having never shared that fact with either of them. Fia on the other hand would have heard it from Elliott on the rare occasions when her older brother would talk about his birth father- Zan was very much a taboo topic in Fia's timeline, and not just because he'd given Elliott his scar. It had never been explicitly been said by anybody who'd been there at the time, but Fia would have got the impression that there had been something in relation to Zan that had happened during that trial and that was so shocking and made such a lasting impress on all that everybody all bit took a vow of silence on the matter, and refused to tell her, no matter what kind of begging Fia tried. John's eyebrow raise of surprise was more noticeable than Jay's. Both, like Fia, had been under the assumption that parents power level had an impact on that of the children. Evidently that wasn't the case for Devra (phoenix however were very much a different story, divine lineages passed things down very different to mortal ones. Mages were also a different story as they weren't technically a race- just a group of people with magical affinity.).

"What really?" John asked, surprise colouring his tone. He'd genuinely expected Zan to have some kind of very potent power of an equivalent level to that of Cal or Elliott, something the man could have used in his other career as a spook, or even to rise in ranks as a politician. According to the reliable sources that were Cal, Cliff and Elliott, part of Attil's political and royal hierarchy was decided by power strength. Had it not been Zan, John probably would have been impressed that somebody who was a Null had managed to rise so far in the rankings. Cal, Elliott, Cliff and Zan all nodded, the doctor tapping the file in her hand, indicating that that particular piece of information was there in the file. "Doesn't photographic memory count? Or is it one of those grey area powers on Attil?" Jay asked knowing that the definition of powers differed from place to settlement. Lizardkin settlements had a different definition of power to that of Cliff's people, who had a different definition of power to that used on Earth (where anything even slightly above human average was deemed a power).

"The latter, both here and on Darrilliux. In smaller systems it is classified as one, but nowhere I've lived has considered it one. There's all kinds of legal stuff deciding what is a power and what isn't here on Attil- and they deemed that photographic memory isn't because it's really just the brain wiring itself up faultily as opposed to some kind of intrinsic internal thing like real powers." "Huh" was all John said on the matter, not wanting to give away any more of his thoughts than he already had. The room fell quiet, nobody quite knowing what to say next. But before it became too awkward the silence was broken by the sound of Zan's phone going off- a text alert this time as opposed to a ringtone like the last time. The man pulled it out in a flash, clearly hoping it was some form of message saying that the encryption had been cracked. His face fell slightly when it became clear that wasn't the case, before a smirk appeared on his face as he texted a reply.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia had almost forgotten about the time she was told briefly about Zan being all but null when it came to having powers as she so focused on the trial. Yet as they spoke of it more and more, she found her mind thinking back to those rare chats with Elliott and John about Zan and Elliott's life on Attil. She began remembering how vague most of those rare chats were, but that it had indeed been mentioned before that Zan didn't have any powers at all. She was also remembering her past/future/whatever she wanted to try and class it as thoughts and assumptions and was finding that those assumptions or pondering were most of her leading reasons for not trusting Zan or the trial, despite the trial going well in Elliott's favour so far. She wondered if subconsciously it was one of the reasons she wanted to stay here and not go back to her time straight away, wondering if by being here she could help in some way to keep the trial going their way and she would keep her brother in her life.

It was only when Jay spoke up that she came out of her thoughts and memories, having not even really heard or noted John's express of surprise or Cliff tapping the file whilst nodding. She then mentally came back into the room and listened to Jay's question before listening to Zan's explanation on what photographic memory was deemed as. She nodded her understanding and surprise at it all, before Zan's phone went off breaking the awkward silence. It was then that Kay managed to feel okay enough to re-enter the apartment having put the door on the latch so she could enter without needing someone to let her in. Upon re-entering, she took it off the latch so she could lock the door properly once more like it was before. She noticed the smirk on Zan's face as he replied to a message on his phone and looked at the group, "everything going okay?" she asked her group.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There was only nodding in response to Kay's question. Nobody wanted to risk starting an actual conversation about feelings and dissection of what they'd just learned and then get so into that conversation that they forgot Zan was in the room and accidentally ended up letting something slip in front of the man, something they did't want him to know. Zan didn't bother replying to the question (he knew full well it wasn't directed at him), instead he continued to smirk at the contents of his phone. There was long enough pauses between his bursts of typing and the flickers at the side of his mouth as he tried to suppress a smirk or similar expression of amusement to make it quite clear to anybody paying attention to the man that he was having a conversation with somebody. After a few minutes he muted the group chat and put the phone back in his pocket. He then took a post-it, scribbled on it in Attili (a date, a time extremely early in the morning and a reminder to buy bad wine) and then stuck it on the edge of the bookshelf nearest to him.

"Good news?" Cal asked after a moment, eyebrow raised. She was annoyed that hr father hadn't excused himself for being rude and ignoring them in favour in favour of whoever it was on the end of the phone, but that annoyance was being overridden by the manners instilled in her as a child- when in somebody else's house you couldn't be too offended by anything they did as you were a guest. As much as she hated to recognise the fact, this was Zan's home and she was closer to a guest then a daughter. "Depends on how you look at it. Bad news for you lot as it's not my collaborators saying they've cracked they encryption. I'm beginning to suspect they already have- the girl's file says she's some kind of really good techie- but they've found something in there related to their search for an Astras transformation cure. It's good news for a friend of mine whose just become a hundred richer, and a mix of both for me- Bec's coming to visit no doubt to criticise all aspects of my life before doing the regular stuff that makes her my favourite sibling."

 

[MzHyde]

When Kay asked her question, she wasn't expecting an in depth answer. She just wanted a simple yes or no answer, so getting a round of nods to say 'yes' was perfectly adequate for her. "good" she simply replied, just glad that nothing majorly bad happened whilst she was outside like she assumed by not hearing much. She noticed how Zan was clearly having a full blown conversation with someone or some people on his phone, despite having a few guests in his home. Like Cal, she found it incredibly rude that he didn't excuse himself or when he finoshed with his phone, apologise for the interruption. Yet also like Cal, she knew not to say anything on the matter as they were all guests in his home. She just stood around with everyone as Cal spoke up in the only way she really could bring up the rudeness of her birth father's actions, without calling him out on it at the same time.

She and Fia both listened to Zan's answer, finding the first part of the answer frustrating that there still wasnt an answer to the encryption, but finding the rest of his answer curious, frustratingly vague and finally completely and utterly unrelated. Fia also made a note of how he was seemingly only recently finding out about Rinaa's tech talent but said nothing and let her reactions fully remain in her head. "well that says alot... Not" Fia muttered. "so in other words, apart from the first part everything was completely unrelated and about your personal life, making it none of our business?" Kay questioned. She was beginning to wonder if there was any reason for them all to still be here or not as to her, they seemed to be overstaying their welcome, judging by Zan's willingness to occupily himself with his private chat on his phone.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Zan's opening words were typically infuriating, and what followed wasn't any better. the fact he started with the bad news, and also the only news really relevant to John's Earth based group and the Attili group. Hearing that the collaborators may have already cracked the code, but were using it for their own side mission instead of contacting Zan didn't exactly sit well with anybody. They may have wanted a cure for Astras to be found so that nobody would have to go through what Rinaa did, but now that she was gone, all focus was very much on Elliott and getting him through the trial alive. The actions of the collaborators was coming off as quite selfish- keeping the information for themselves and not letting it be used to save Elliott, something that John frowned disapprovingly at.

Then it turned into Zan's personal life- something none of them had given any thought to the existence of. The fact that his explanation of that went on longer than his suspicions about the freelancers didn't sit well with anybody, least of all John who was wondering what kind of point the man was trying to make. He couldn't think of why any of these details would be relevant to them except maybe for Cal and Elliott as it looked like if they were interested they might be able to meet their aunt for the first time. Zan gave a curt nod at Kay's summary of his earlier words. "Exactly" he replied. "So, aside from the first bit, what fucking relevance does any of this have to us?" John couldn't help but ask, quite clearly annoyed. He couldn't help but wonder what angle Zan was playing by telling them all this. "Well if I didn't give some form of explanation somebody would have demanded for an elaboration as to what else I was texting about." Zan replied coolly, raising an eyebrow in a 'prove me wrong, I dare you' sort of way.

"Never mind the fact that you have a personal life." Jay interjected, waving a dismissive hand at Zan's explanation for why he'd overshared on why he'd been so engrossed in what the other person- or more likely people- had been texting him. She knew it was all too valid. She most certainly would have asked what he was smirking about, probably demanding to see the phone as proof that he hadn't been badmouthing them to whoever was on the other end. "Whose files are you talking about?" Jay asked "the freelancers' files?" The other day Zan had said he knew next to nothing about his collaborators, but now it was looking like he'd read some kind of file, which suggested the man was keeping something from them. It hadn't escaped her attention that Zan had used the descriptor of 'girl', which, when combined with an affinity for tech skills made her think of the daughter she'd never really gotten to know or get a proper read on.

"Yeah the 'lancers, it's standard policy, the operative whose been working the area longest gets to look at the files of the other to check for suitability skills wise. In the case of this operation, I have seniority and got to see them- what little of them there is. The two bring a new meaning to heavily redacted. There was no personal details whatsoever outside of gender, a call sign and a list of various military and spook facilities they've worked at. The only other legible stuff was their skill set and a select set of previous operations they've worked on, both on and off the spook's payroll- their pedigree is impressive. The female 'lancer's file was more redacted more than the male's one, requiring a clearance level one higher than that of the male's if you want to read the whole thing. And before you ask both unredacted files require high clearance that what Dakkon's got."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay could understand why John was getting increasingly frustrated, but she also felt like their frustration was getting them absolutely nowhere. It was proven to them that it didn't matter if they asked Zan questions in a civil manner or aggressively, he would answer them anyway, yet she didn't make too much of an action to convey outwardly of her inner thoughts. Instead she just listened to Zan's counter thinking he did actually have a point. One of their group would no doubt ask for more clarification about what got him smirking in amusement or who it was messaging him at what they no doubt conceived to be a bad time. She was actually thankful that Jay spoke up to shut the side conversation down, thinking with John's annoyance and Zan's 'I dare you to disagree' expression it could only go way downhill if they weren't careful.

She continued to listen to Jay's question about the files and Zan's answer and explanation, finding everything he was saying highly curious and interesting. She still couldn't help but think upon Rinaa when it was all explained, about how Rinaa so heavily encrypted her own laptop as an example, making her wonder if it truly was Rinaa Zan was talking about. Yet then there was the brief mention about a male which got her wondering who that male was. Was it someone Rinaa knew? Was it one of Rinaa's vigilante crew? Or was it someone completely unconnected? "I guess we'll just have to take your word for it then" she commented. As Fia was listening to everything, she had to really try hard to not say anything or mention Rinaa's name or other names. She didn't want tod rag Rinaa back into this by word of mouth when through an accident she got out. It didn't go unnoticed to her that not once did they let on they knew Rinaa since seeing her patient record and that was how she was going to keep it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay had been hoping for once that Zan had been keeping information from them and that they could find out something about the enigmatic male and female freelancers who were both helping to ensure Elliott's trial went the right way and were seeking the cure. She also wanted a answer as to why she thought the male operative looked familiar and why her hair had prickled at the sight of him. That was far from her usual reaction to anybody, and it was getting to the point where she just wanted answers, not more riddles and insinuations about the bigger picture. Zan was right in thinking that she'd been about to ask if Dakkon would have the necessary clearance to view the unredacted versions of the files. If the lizardkin was indeed able to see them, Jay was fairly confident that, given how much better her working relationship with the lizard was than Zan's, that she'd have been able to get some form of details from Dakkon.

She resisted the urge to scowl at the fact that, once again, they were being kept in the dark about something that was clearly related to them in some way or another. She may be annoyed, but it was better for her to keep in character and have her face stay inscrutable so as not to give Zan any insight into what she was thinking on the matter. Elliott was very much at the centre of what was going on on Attil, and given that her photo was on the wall of victims along with startlingly up-to-date medical stats on her declining state, Rinaa was also embroiled in whatever the hell it was that was going on here.

John on the other hand had no such qualms about displaying his annoyance so openly "essentially you know jack shit about them." A nod. "And that's the way I intend to keep it- fragment plots don't work if you know your collaborators. You lot" he gestured in a semi-circular motion at the group assembled around the coffee table "on the other hand are not a direct part of the fragment plot- subjects of and people on interest yes. In theory, as none of you are being paid to do this, you could just go over to the safe house and attempt to catch them before they vanish to wherever it is that the two of them hang out when not in the safe house working. Whether they'd answer your questions is another thing entirely." He finished with a shrug.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was convinced that if John got anymore annoyed he would burst blood vessel or two, yet she knew it would take alot to stop him being this annoyed. The fact that Zan just remarked with what he did in a 'well that's how it is so deal eoth' manner said a lot to her, even if it might not have for anyone else. It was getting clearer and clearer to her that Zan just wasn't bothered by John and the fact that everything he said pissed John off. She was just tired of the constant testosterone constantly flying around the room between John and Zan, knowing the two of them would never get on or even come to a civil agreement with each other. She didn't expect them to be any other way with each other, but man was she getting tired of the unsaid back and forth words and attitude between them. She did however find what Zan pointed out interesting and knew the moment those words came out of his mouth, Elliott, Cal and Jay at least would be attempting to do exactly what he insuinated.

Fia was also just tired in general but she didn't let it show too much. It had been a long day being awake early, listening to the long trial day, travelling to this apartment and having spent a fair amount of time drilling Zan was finally catching up to her. "well I guess that's another thing to add to the ever extending list" she remarked with a irritated sigh and folding her arms across her chest. She remembered how it was mentioned that the other two who used the safe house used it during the day before Zan used it in the evenings making her wonder when exactly during rhe day they actually switch over. Zan had been clearly planning on relaxing in his actual apartment for the majority of this day considering he had made a meal which he never got around to eating thanks to them. She just felt like every day was bringing more and more questions when all she wanted was for the trial to go ahead, Elliott and magic users in general get their very much deserved justice and the Earth group could all leave Attil to their appropriate moments in time.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The majority of the conversation had taken place in English, so Dan had been relying on signed summaries from Cliff about what had been said. But with the doctor engrossed in the medical section of the file for the past, he'd lost that understanding of the conversation and was relying on his knowledge of body language and the hints that his empathic powers were giving him. What was becoming abundantly obvious to the blacksmith was that as the conversation was progressing Zan was giving less and less of a fuck of what the others though of him, being more focused on getting them the hell out of his flat so he could eat then crash out and sleep for as long as possible before the next day of the trial. The circles around the man's eyes said that Jay wasn't the only one who'd been burning the midnight oil to the point of exhaustion these past few days.

The idea of interrogating the freelancers was most appealing to Jay. From her experience both working with and working as a freelancer, they were easier to get to open up than the actual spooks as their loyalties were not as strong towards the organisation as that of a spook, spy or trained assassin (who could be affiliated with a house, tribe or clan). Not that they could be swayed easily to the other side, but they'd willingly drop the kind of hints that Zan or Dakkon wouldn't in return for information on other things. It was clear that talking to Zan was going to get them nowhere, except maybe to the point where John's patience broke and he finally made good on his promise of punching the man. Whether or not he'd hit was another thing, Zan had clearly received some form of hand-to-hand training during his time as a spook and a military cadet. "Well I guess there's really not much point in us being here then?" "No there really isn't." Zan replied, his tone telling them that he'd like nothing more than to tell them 'to get the fuck out of his flat an leave him alone', but he had just enough self restraint not to say such a thing aloud. "I didn't make nearly enough food for nine extra people."

 

[MzHyde]

Hearing Jay say the key phrase of starting the 'exit strategy' from Zan's home was of great relief to both Fia and Kay. Zan's reply may have been short but it was clear to the both of them that he'd love nothing more than to just flat out kick them all out of his apartment one by one. The comment about food did bring the tiniest and briefest smirk to both their faces, both thinking that they probably wouldn't eat here even if Zan had made enough food for nine extra people. Fia was so tempted to say 'fine by us' but she refrained from doing so, knowing it was best to just be on her best behaviour for once. Not that she had necessarily been out of line being here before, but she still didn't went to say anything else that would put her in a worse light than she possibly was with Zan already. "then let's head back and we can discuss and decide on what to do next at Cal and Cliff's place" Kay suggested in as a polite civil manner as she could muster. She was tired and knew it was still a bit of journey back before they could all truly relax.

Fia nodded in agreement at her mother's words, something that was surprisingly happening more and more often since coming back to this time. She was pretty sure she hadn't agreed on many things Kay said in her time in comparison to what she agreed with in this time. "I wouldn't mind going back anyway" she just simply said in response, finding it to be the most calm way of saying 'I want the fuck outta here before dad go apeshut on Zan out of principle'. If they were in any other situation she probably would have grabbed John's arm and gave it a supportive but telling tug telling him, or more precisely, begging him to just leave this heated atmosphere. She was used to doing it when future Kay went missing and when they had leads, or what they thought were leads and she had to physically yank him away from starting another fight to get answers. But here and now she didn't want to show Zan any kind of clue of who she truly was.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the mention of Zan having made food, both Cal and Elliott's eyes flicked towards the long-discarded dish on the table. Both felt a slight twinge of guilt for having interrupted Zan's meal, given that Dan had spent the majority of the trial lunch break interrogating him it was doubtful that the man had eaten since the early morning. When they were kids Zan and Mara took turns cooking, both took great pleasure from it and were actually fairly decent cooks. The now-cold dish on the table was one they knew well as it was one of their father's favourite things to eat. With three people expressing a desire to leave, neither sibling saw much point in hanging around any longer, especially as it was clear that Zan wasn't going to give them any more. "Yeah, we should go." Cal agreed.

Cliff nodded her agreement with her wife's words before handing the file back to Zan. He took it with a nod, then gestured wordlessly with his free hand towards the door of the apartment. John had no qualms with leaving, he was the first out of the door in fact, being he more than happy to get the hell away from Zan. There was something about the man that just constantly rubbed him up the wrong way. As soon as all had left the apartment Zan shut the door firmly behind them. He didn't slam it like an angry teenager, but there was a force behind it that said none would be welcome back in. "Well that was as enlightening as ever." John declared once they were well out of earshot of the apartment. "Agreed" Jay nodded, scrubbing a hand across the top of her hair, mussing up her hair. "I don't know about anybody else, but I intend to speak to the 'lancers and see what they've got to say for themselves."

 

[MzHyde]

To say it was a relief to both Kay and Fia that Cal agreed they should all go now would quite frankly be a massive understatement. With it all agreed, they wasted no time in exiting the apartment, making note of how firmly Zan closed the door behind them all. Both of them thought that even though the door wasn't slammed behind them, it was still quite rudely closed behind them, though they kept that to themselves despite how tempting it was for one of them to say 'well that was rude'. They both nodded in agreement at John's words about how enlightening it was, though Kay had a feeling that he'd probably have gone as far to say 'well thank fuck we're out of there'. They listened to what Jay said, and just as Fia assumed only moments ago, Jay did indeed want to go see these lancers and see what they had to say for themselves.

"I feel like going back to the apartment and slobbing out on the couch. My brain can't take anymore heavy Intel for today" Fia replied to Jay. "I'm pretty done for the day too and I've not done nearly as much as most of you" Kay remarked, just wishing for the day when she could be back to her normal self and go for hours without feeling worn out. She just knew that the moment she could, she fully intended to go all out with whatever she wanted when she could, in between bringing up this timeline's Fia. Even if it was just between The House and John's apartment, she didn't want to be relegated to just slobbing on the couch then sleeping in a bed. Oh how she missed the days of standing up for hours on end, listening to music and painting a canvas or just strolling to the nearest bookstore and reading with a good coffee in her hand. She had lost so much of her life in two years, and now the universe was shoving a kid in her life. She also missed the days when she wasn't tired all the damn time.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Same here, between this and the trial my brain is pretty dang scrambled- it's a wonder that I can walk straight." Chas agreed, he could already feel the beginnings of a headache forming and knew if he had to endure another couple of hours of somebody trying to extract information from reluctant sources his head would explode in pain. "I'm in a similar state" Cliff agreed, slumping ever so slightly into Cal's side "the medical and psych section of that file wasn't pretty" she shook her head and pulled a face to emphasise her thoughts on the matter. "I really need to digest it all and would rather do it in the comfort of my own home." "Where you go, I go." Cal declared, slinging an arm around Cliff's waist, before admitting in a slightly more sheepish voice, not wanting to give Zan credit for something. "He had the right idea about eating- I'm bloody starving and I had lunch not too long ago." Dan also nodded his agreement with that plan, his empathic powers meaning he was also feeling the side-effects of being in such a charged atmosphere.

"Well I'm up for getting answers or just cracking heads if people don't talk." John declared with a shrug. Going back to the flat wouldn't help him, he was too full of anger that needed to be directed at something or somebody. Channelling at getting answers from the freelancers sounded like a pretty dang good idea and if that didn't work then he could for a long, long walk and smoke his brains out until he calmed down. At times like this it really wasn't good for him to be around people like Fia and Kay, their attempts to calm him down only made him more angry, provoking him to the point where he'd just flat out push them away in whatever hurtful way he could. Jay on the other hand wouldn't bother doing such a thing and out of all of them was the least likely to stop him from doing something morally ambiguous. All eyes then turned to Elliott who gave a sigh. "All I really feel like right now is going up to the roof and doing some drawing alone" he cast a look in Cal's direction. "Helps me process stuff" he said by means of explanation, not sure whether his sister would know this about him as he hadn't really drawn much as a kid.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia felt glad that she wasn't the only one who felt utterly brain dead from all the intense intel they had deal with in one day. Hearing that Cal and Cliff and seeing Dan nodding was only more of a reassurance that she wasn't the only one who was mentally burnt out. It wasn't a surprise to Fia or Kay that John would want to go with Jay to seek out more answers, both having witnessed just how angry he was getting when in the same room as Zan. Fia knew more than Kay did that leaving him alone was the best course of action and not to make him more angry by either saying something wrong or trying to calm him down. Kay was still learning with John when to be there for him and when to back off, finding this was very much one time to back off, even though he was more than willing to have a punch up if it meant they got answers. She just hoped he would seek the calm he clearly needed.

Turning to Elliott and hearing him say about wanting to draw alone, both Kay and Fia just knew deep down it was for the secret art gift that he was doing for Cal and Cliff, yet Kay could also see the logic in Elliott's comment to Cal. She saw how being utterly alone somewhere was more calming whilst drawing when your mind was so heavily filled with complicated information. "that's that settled then, we'll head back to relax whilst J2 here go seek out more answers" Kay remarked, meaning Jay and John by her 'J2' shorthand. "hopefully that way we'll all get what we need whilst not stepping on each other's toes so to speak" she then added. "and the important bit that Cal pointed out... Eat" Fia added with a smirk, trying to end things on a slightly more light hearted note. "oh for...." Kay sighed stopping mid sentence, "do you ever think about anything other than your stomach?" she asked Fia, "sometimes, when it suits me" Fia cheekily countered making Kay just shake her head at her kid's words.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Their were smirks from the group at Kay's shorthand way of referring to two of the most important people in Elliott's life. Jay's smirk was more bittersweet as there had been some people who used a similar term to refer to her and her brother back when Jack was still alive. There was also smirking and slight rolling of eyes when Fai declared that food was important. Seemed the teenager really was a sort of bottomless pit when it came to good food. With their plan of action now decided they headed to the train station the group. Once at their usual spot the group split. Kay, Fia, cal, Cliff and Elliott all heading back to the apartment. Dan planned to join them to eat, but first wanted to check in at the forge, to see what he'd missed and how good a job Simeon was doing of running things (and pass on Cal's invitation to dinner to the boy). The apprentice may the youngest out of the three main forge workers, but he was proving to have quite the head for business. Dan hadn't said it out loud, but if something was ever to happen to him he'd be more likely to leave the business aspect of the forge to Simeon- he had a far better head for running things than Cal did. Jay and John headed towards the safehouse, wearing identical expressions of being pissed off.

Elliott made good on his promise of heading up to the roof, taking his sketchbook as well as the canvas he was working on for Cal and Cliff. He'd covered the canvas in a fake wood paper (startling similar to that Zan had used to camouflage the file in his bookshelf) to make the canvas look like it was a board of wood to lean on and not an exquisitely detailed work in progress present for his sister and sister in law. Cliff and Chas collapsed onto the nearest chairs with sighs of relief, the doctor taking out her hearing aids and lying back with her eyes closed. She wasn't asleep however, just merely wanted to be left alone to think (Cal explained that to the others, who, bar Fia, wouldn't have seen Cliff do this before). Cal made her way to the kitchen to start cooking. Without really thinking about what she was doing she started to make the same dish that Zan had cooked for himself. Her father had taught her a couple of dishes before their lives imploded and seeing the food in his apartment had made her long for it.

 

[MzHyde]

When Kay used the shorthand it was purely out of convenience so she didn't have to say 'John and Jay'. It was pure laziness but she really didn't care in this moment of time, she always said what she thought when she knew it was okay to do so, and she would never say such a shorthand doubt of spite but fondness for both people involved. She only ever shortened anyone's name or expressed a nickname if she truly trusted and liked someone, and she really did like both Jay and John, or in John's case, learning to truly love him. The fact her shorthand got a round of smirks from everyone was just purely a bonus in her eyes. The fact that Fia also got a round of smirks at her food comment made the teenager actually proud. It was her sole reason for among such a retort and seeing it work, giving her the reaction she was hoping for made her incredibly proud of herself. Both girls headed back to the apartment, letting the other two split off to the sage house nearby when they reached the end part of their journey, gladly getting in and heading to the couch.

On the couch, they both sat down gladly as Cal and Chas sat on the chairs and relaxed back, nodding at Cal's explanation about Cliff thinking it was more than reasonable of her to do so. They let Elliott go off up to the roof, both noting how Elliott disguised his work in progress so neither Cal or Cliff could get even a tiny glimpse of what he was doing. Kay sighed contently sitting down, glad to be off her feet once again. Fia was tired but restless, yet she didn't want to disturb her brother on the roof with her violin or just being around so she got up and went to the kitchen. "can I help with anything? Even if it's just passing you things" she asked Cal. She was just wanting to do anything that wasn't intense, and if that was hanging out with her sort of half sister then she was totally down for that. Kay couldn't help but glance at what Fia was up to and smiled to herself seeing what it was. She had to give her teenager credit, she was always there willing to help if she could, no matter what it was. She also wondered if Fia had alreeior motives for wanting to help Cal which was stealing little bits of food like an utter child.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal didn't usually cook with other people when she was in charge of choosing the dish (if Cliff had chosen the dish then it would be a very different matter as due to their work schedules the two didn't often get an opportunity to do something as normal as cooking together). But she could sense that Fia wanted needed to do something with her and she could very much understand keeping yourself busy as a way of coping with heavy news. There had been many a time in her late teenage and early twenties where Cal had used working long shifts at the forge as a way of working through her problems, particularly when they made her angry as she could channel that aggression into wielding the heavy blacksmith's tools. So she nodded at Fia "sure, you can start by cutting up these into slices" she passed over the vegetable in question along with a sharp, very slightly curved kitchen knife.

Dan arrived at the flat after about three quarters of an hour, by which point the food was almost ready. Simeon wasn't with him, the apprentice had declined the offer of eating with them in favour of going home and being with his partner and daughter, something which Can and Dan completely understood. Both Tai and Simeon really loved Lee, even if Lee was the reason that neither Tai nor Simeon spoke to their respective families. Dan's timing was excellent it only took another few minutes to finish up making the meal, which was a sort of noodles and meat dish with a side fried circular slices of what were the Attili equivalent of potatoes. As she was cooking for eight people (with the intent of having leftovers) she made use of the various kinds of meat they had in the house, using everything except fish in it. She'd tried to make this dish work with fish before, as had Cliff, but none f them had been able to do it. It was possible though, she and Elliott had had it as kids. But even now that she was actually talking to Zan, there was no way in HELL she was going to ask him for the recipe. that would be suggesting a level of familiarity that Cal was in no way wanting to exist between them.