13066/A Bit of Practice

A Bit of Practice
Date of Scene:	19 April 2021
Location:	Gymnasium, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Yaozu and Skye chat in the gymnasium. Song comes in to collect Yao due to a missed appointment. Yao collapses and medical mayhem ensues.
Cast of Characters:	Yaozu Lin, Quake, Liansong "Song" Qing

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Yaozu Lin has posed:
As was habit for him, Yaozu had awakened early and eaten a light breakfast before making his way to the athletics area of the Triskelion. There are some areas that he's more familiar with than others, and this area happens to be one of them. He spends a fair amount of time here every day. There are those that might judge such a thing, but he listens not to their speculations.

Rather than be dressed in what might be considered 'normal' here, he's dressed in what he's comfortable in. This happens to be a set of silk robes that are both dark burgundy and black, layered. They're of an older Chinese style, and yet he's not only familiar in them and comfortable in them. The gymnasium is relatively quiet, for many others have gone to seek out food for lunch. Yet Yaozu remains, for he has more practice that he wishes to do. There is little in the way of attention paid to others within the gymnasium, though this is not a thing that's out of the ordinary for him.

Yaozu's movements are graceful as he moves through the last of the karate katas, and there's the whispery sound of silk to silk with those movements. His feet are bare, and they make soft sounds upon the mats. The neat braid of his hair has become frayed over the course of his practice. Nearby, on the floor but a short distance away from Yaozu, sits a bo staff.

Quake has posed:
Now, for Skye there wasn't a morning as there was 'late to bed'. She had just finished her archery practice in an attempt to calm herself down and think. So far, she'd calmed herself down, but hadn't gotten further with her with her problem. In fact she'd just added to it with Nat.

Going through the gym, she stopped to watch Yaozu go through his katas. "Not bad. You've got me beat!" She grins.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The solution to a problem isn't always a clear cut and easy to find sort of thing. Sometimes physical exertion can stir things along, although whether Yaozu is attempting to do so is difficult to tell. He's not an easy read, given that peaceful and calm expression on his features.

Standing still after the kata has been complete, Yaozu's hazel gaze lowers to the bo staff for a lingering moment before turning away from it. And turning towards Skye, at her words. His right hand slips to his left, the back of his right fitting to the palm of his left, and then he bows to her, his arms extended and his braid slipping forward over one of his shoulders. It is a respectful movement, and he pauses moment before straightening, keeping his hands in front of him. "Thank you. There is always more to learn," Yaozu says, a ghost of a smile finding the corners of his lips. He can always do better, or so he believes. His breathing is a bit on the quick side, though it might be hard to tell if that's normal or not given his activity.

Quake has posed:
"Well, you look better than I do. Well.." Skye frowns. "Then I do at this. I suppose.." She stops. "What have you heard about me?"

There was no reason to explain everything if he knew everything. As she stood there, she set her bow and arrows down.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The additional compliment to enforce the first one is enough to draw him into half bowing to her. "Thank you. I have been practicing for many years," Yaozu says, inclining his head towards her. He straightens, and there is a slight quirk up of one of his eyebrows as he watches her, and his head tilts a touch to one side.

He lifts his left hand and gestures towards a section of the mat near to her, an invitation. A moment later, and he lowers to the mat himself, settling easily into cross-legged position, his hands vanished into the sleeves of his robes as he settles them into his lap. "There is little that I have heard. I have not been here for overly long in order to hear much. I have heard that you are good with computers," Yaozu offers, inclining his head towards her. For the moment, at least, he ignores the braid that's over the front of his shoulder. His breathing is still a bit on the quicker side of things, but if it bothers him, there are no outward signs of such.

Quake has posed:
Skye laughs softly. "Yes, I am very good with computers." Edging up on the top 5 in the world at her particular speciality. "Did you know the first 6 months or so, most people thought I was an IT grunt. They actually asked me to get their passwords. Note. I don't do passwords." At least not in the way they hoped!

But she had her answer.

"I'm better than I used to be at handguns. Even hand to hand. Lately I've been taking more time to master them. For reasons." And did she have reasons. "You might be assigned to me for practice." He was.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"If ever I have issues with my computer, then I will know who to find for help," Yaozu says, a flicker of amusement showing in the words and reflecting in his hazel eyes. "Mm," he offers in acknowledgement of what she says about her first six months. "This, I did not know. I will bear that in mind, about passwords," he offers, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He isn't exactly known for showing much in the way of expression. It may be a cultural thing or it could be other things.

"I am fair, with firearms. I could use more practice with them," Yaozu says. Of course, he always says that he needs more practice, about -everything-. He can always be better, in his own opinion. He tilts his head faintly to one side, and then he inclines his head towards her. "I have been. I received a notification earlier this morning," he says. There had been another notification as well, though that one had been to confirm that he had been removed from active field duty.

Quake has posed:
Well, you'd have to find me first!" The break room was usually the usual place. Skye doesn't do passwords per se.. well not her co-workers. "I'm a hacker, really. I'm really not on a team anymore." If she was on one, which was debatable.

She leans on her bow. "I thought as much. I'll be honest, I'm better than your average Joe off the street. I still get beat out by Clint and Natasha." She names them by the first names, and if they were what she was looking as 'better', she wasn't too damn crappy by herself. "I need to bump up my hand to hand." She looks around before lowering her voice. "I imagine they are looking at you to ease my hand to hand with my powers. Not to mention the guns. I have been working with my powers in private. Now they're easing my back into the general workforce so to speak. I've never really gone on missions as the heavy before."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"Mm," Yaozu acknowledges, inclining his head slightly towards her. His hazel gaze holds to her, watching her. "This is true. And that is what I had heard, that you were good with computers, a hacker," he says. His hands remain in his lap, though they are vanished up the sleeves of his robe. He seems comfortable, and remains seated in cross legged fashion. Oddly, his breathing still remains quicker than what normal is, should one notice such things, becoming a bit unevenish, a bit shorter.

"I am better than some and worse than others, with firearms," Yaozu says. It's not a lie, per se, it just might not be the entire truth of the matter. "I have heard that Clint and Natasha are the sharpest shooters. I am not on a level with them," he comments. His left hand slips out of his sleeve then, and he lifts it to lightly flick his braid over his shoulder to send it tumbling to his back. There might be a slight blue-ish tinge to his fingertips. Then his hand returns to where it had started. "We can practice whenever you wish it. It would seem that I will have more time than what I had anticipated," he offers, inclining his head towards her. "What are your powers, if you do not mind the question? If you will be used as the heavy, then you will be expected to be causing the most damage. To take things out for your teammates to be able to follow more safely," he says softly, a thoughtful tone to his voice. "I do not have powers," he adds. He doesn't consider growing feathers and potentially wings to be a 'power', exactly.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
Technically speaking, that is the truth. Unless a person is literally the worst or literally the best at something, they will always be better than some and worse than others. Liansong is, technically speaking, on duty right now. He's working a rotation in medical. A certain someone who'm they all know he's suite mates with, hadn't shown up for his scheduled appointment. So of course, Liansong got tagged to play fetch with his erstwhile roommate.

Having an idea of where one Yaozu might be, the gym is the first place Liansong goes. Especially as he knows the man doesn't carry his phone or anything else on him there. He pushes the door open and hears his voice. "Bloody /hell/, mate," he says, turning his head to look at Yaozu as he starts across the mats toward him.

Only to stop short as his ears and eyes register things that are not necessarily good things. "We need to run more tests." Whatever he'd been about to say is substituted with that. Patient confidentiality and all that.

Quake has posed:
Skye was almost ready to reply when Dr. Song wanders over. "If you need me to go.." So she wasn't the only one who had caught the blue tint in Yaozu's hands.. "You're alright, aren't you?"

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The message about the appointment had, alas, fallen into the inbox of a device that was out of hand. Yaozu had already been in the gym by the time it was sent, and his device had been left behind. And it had been left in silent mode, so the only indication on the device itself had been that the screen had lit up briefly where it sat on the bedside table. Technology might be amazing stuff, but it generally works better for that sort of thing when it's near the person it belongs to.

Yaozu is, at least in some aspects, predictable. His mornings are spent in the gym, and there are times when that bleeds to the afternoon. The sound of Song's voice causes Yaozu's hazel gaze to turn in the direction of his roommate, and he faintly tilts his head a touch to one side. "Mm?" is the mildly inquisitive sound that Yaozu makes in response to Liansong's statement.

And the sound comes only a moment before he shifts his weight in order to rise to his feet. He had the intention of bowing to Song, as respect and honour dictate to be done, and yet... that intention would go unmet. He does manage to get most of the way to his feet probably out of sheer will before he visibly wobbles and does the rather undignified thing of collapsing. Skye's question goes verbally unanswered, alas, but it's likely safe to say that he's not entirely all right.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
Indeed. Such devices only work when they have access to the person they belong to. Thus Liansong's 'bloody hell, mate'. That had been frustration in that comment. Something that had quite cut off and gone when his senses told him things. That the object of his searching is easy to predict may have been why Song was voluntold to find him. Or it might be because he's the new guy. Either is as likely to be the case.

As the man moves to rise, Liansong holds out a hand, as though he can stop him from twenty feet or more away. "No, don't-." And that's as far as Liansong gets, verbally, before the collapse happens. His wings spread and he hop jumps forward, but he's still too far away to properly catch the man. That'll be up to Skye. "Bloody honor-bound idiot," he mutters half under his breath as he lands, still several feet distant.

Quake has posed:
For fucks sakes. No, he /wasn't/ alright. Far from it.

As he started to fall, Skye immediately, and reflexively, put out her hands and 'floated' him down to the floor. Good thing it was relatively minor, and she didn't hurt herself. Looking around, the Dr. was almost there. "He just collapsed? What's wrong with him?"

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Things are not all well. And sadly, Liansong's attempt at a warning to Yaozu had fallen that moment too late to actually change the intended path of motion. There is nary an ounce of awareness of the hop-jump that Liansong takes to end up closer to him. His consciousness is rather in the dark, at the moment. One might expect for Yaozu's breathing to ease back to normal with the fact that he's fainted, but... it doesn't. It stays uneven, short, quick, laboured as though he's not able to get enough air. Not only is that blue tinge visible to his fingers, but it also comes now to his lips. Perhaps this is the root reason behind why he had sat down instead of continuing his practice by moving on to work with the bo staff sitting on the mat nearby. He hadn't said anything that had hinted at any reasons, though. Stupid, stubborn, honour-bound male! On the up side of things, at least Skye had been there to prevent him from going splat to the mats.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
Liansong is relieved, though he doesn't really look it with the feathers and beak, when Yaozu is caught and eased to the floor. With.. whatever it is Skye is doing. Whatever it is, he's happy for it. It shows just in his eyes and the set of his feather tufts. Kind of there, but back a bit. Some distress. "Low oxygen saturation," he says. He tilts his head as he stops next to the pair. "Heart rate is elevated. Air sacs.." The words trail off into something quietly muttered but fully incomprehensible.

Liansong reaches up to tap the left side of his head where an earbud of sorts can be just seen peeking through the feathers that are still sky blue. "Need a stretcher and oxygen to the gym five minutes ago. Patient in respiratory distress. Yes, that means hurry you daffy ba..... person you."

Quake has posed:
"Air sacs? Huh?" The only thing that had air sacs.. oh.. Skye *looked* at Yao. "I hate to suggest this, but, is he going through a change?" As close as she could make sense of Yao. It wasn't *quite* as volatile as her change was, but given the air sacs.. Of course she was thinking fish.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
There will be time for Yaozu to be potentially mortified about having passed out later. Especially given that it had happened -in front of people-. Right now, he remains in that blissful darkness that ignorance and unconsciousness bring. He's a rag-doll, all limp and unresponsive. He continues to breathe, but his breathing doesn't improve, and it eases instead towards being worse. One would think that he should be getting better, but he's not. He shivers a little bit, intermittently, and yet if one were to feel his forehead, he doesn't feel cold and actually feels too warm.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
Well. She's not far off in thinking fish. Afterall, they have air sacs too. Liansong taps the earbud to cancel transmit, and nods to Skye. "Yeah, he is." And yet, he doesn't explain. At least, not right at present. "Right now, he's dying. His last blood test showed low oxygen sats. He was supposed to have an appointment two hours ago. I should have come here myself immediately when he didn't show up."

Liansong shakes his head, clearly blaming himself for this current predicament. "I know he has a habit of leaving all electronics in the suite or a locker when he comes to work out. Could have headed this off before it ever got this bad." The doctor might be babbling. Just a little.

He reaches up to tap his left ear bud again. "Where's that stretcher? Hurry up. He's declining."

Quake has posed:
Too bad her powers could make her strong, or could breathe for Yaozu. "What was he doing anyways?" He obviously ignored his body, and threw himself over the edge of insanity. Pushing himself beyond his body's capabilities. At this point, Skye didn't know what to do. "Tell me what to do?"

Yaozu Lin has posed:
If Yaozu were awake and aware, he would appreciate that Liansong doesn't go into the long and the short of what's happening to him. But he is neither of those things. If he were awake and aware, he would assuredly not be letting Liansong get away with blaming himself. It isn't Song's fault! He'd be quick to tell the avian so, were he of a mind to be able to do so. Alas, he is not.

Even before the mutation had started, he hadn't been changing in the locker room, though he would sometimes leave his devices there all locked up safe. They never went with him to the gym itself, not that he told anyone why. It was habit, from his days of being a student -- to show respect to his liaoshi, and to the place of learning.

Declining is perhaps a bit of an understatement, where Yaozu's condition is concerned. There's a sheen of sweat that rises to his skin, a clammy sort of feeling. The rate of his heart's beating increases, and ventures into dangerous ranges. His breathing follows suit. And it isn't long before entering those dangerous ranges before his heart stutters a little bit and then... stops. When his heart stops, his breathing also stops, his last breath exhaled, and then... then there is the eerie stillness of death.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
"Just excercising, I think," replies Liansong. "Probably listened to the warning signs, which was why he was sitting when I got here. But then the honorbound idiot tried to stand when he wasn't getting enough air to start with." Not having come to find Yaozu the moment he was late for the appointment really was Liansong's fault. If he had come then, they wouldn't be dealing with this now.

Liansong's head is tilted, just so. Like he's listening to something. He's not even taking a measure of Yaozu's pulse. But he seems to know. His beak clacks in irritation. He reaches up to tap his ear bud. "He's about to arrest. Get your arses here, now!"

And then it happens. "Shite! He's arrested. I hope to God you lot remembered the defibrilator." He glances to Skye and shakes his head. "Nothing either of us can do except for CPR before the others arrive. I can do chest compressions, but I can't breathe for him. Beak's not shaped right. Unless you know a way to start his heart." He shifts to lean over Yaozu, to start chest compressions.

Quake has posed:
"Huh?" Dr. Liasong was looking around for the CPR equipment. In actuality Skye wasn't sure where it was in the gym. But she had a pretty good idea what could be done..

"Maybe?" She knelt beside Yao. "Shh. This is dependent upon quiet." Not true. She felt everything's vibrations, not heard them. This was no different. In fact, she didn't know IF it would work.

Skye closed her eyes and put her hands over Yao's chest and tried to put her heart beat as his heart beat. Essentially he would be supplying the blood but until his own heart beat, she would be providing it. And not for long either! She had never tried this before. As far as things go, it was hard.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
'Just exercising'. It's a thing that can cover a lot of ground, where Yaozu is concerned. What he had done prior to working his way through the karate kata is relatively unknown, though given the amount of time that he spends in the gymnasium, it's likely that it wasn't just those kata to have been done. He has training habits. He should have heeded his body and remained sitting instead of trying to stand when Liansong had arrived. And he likely also should have sent Skye to fetch Liansong when he'd started to feel off. But he hadn't. Perhaps he had thought it would pass, that he would be fine. It's hard to guess what he may have been thinking, in those moments.

CPR has been proven to be effective even if the breaths aren't given. The important part is to keep the blood moving. There's still air in the lungs, and so the exchange of gases can still happen. It might not be as efficiently as what his body needs on account of what's happening inside of him, but it's better than if his heart remained stopped. Skye's efforts are enough to make his heart beat, but it takes precious time and what perhaps feels like a long time of waiting before his heart gives a faint thrum of a beat of its own. And then it doesn't again for a number of beats before it does. Fitfully, unsteadily, his heart starts to beat on its own. The ashen paleness that's crept to his skin is perhaps a thing that looks all the paler for the darkness of his hair and robes.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
Liansong steps back when Skye does her thing, and really does go look for the CPR equipment. Three things converge in the moment. Skye gets Yaozu's heart beating again. Liansong finds the CPR equipment and is nearly back to them. The team with the stretcher and defibrilator arrives.

This is good. Better than the CPR kit by far. "His heart's beating again. I can hear it. Get him on oxygen before he crashes again," he calls out to the team who arrives just ahead of him.

On the side opposite Skye, they're not about to interrupt what she's doing, it might well be the only thing keeping Yaozu's heart beating at this point, they set him up on oxygen and get that going.

By this point, Liansong is at his side as well. "Okay Skye, just keep doing what you're doing," he says. "We're going to lift him and slide the stretcher under him, then lift him up and head for medical. You've got this," he says. His tone holds absolute faith. Skye has this.

Quake has posed:
It's a good thing, because Skye was beat after that little bit of over exertion. Thank goodness she was already on the floor, or else she would have been there anyways. She nods to Dr Liansong. All she needed was to make sure Yao's heart kept on beating until they got him out of here. Hopefully fast! "I think I may need a going over when you are done."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The beating of his heart remains an uneven and unsteady sort of thing, almost as though there's a mismatch of sorts between the needs of the body in comparison to the normal rate his heart typically beats at. His heartbeat generally trends towards the lower side of normal on account of his physical fitness level. But Skye's efforts keep it beating as it's supposed to, as it needs to, reacquainting it with a normal rhythm. Gradually, his heartbeat does start to synch with it, though this only really becomes more evident once Yaozu is hooked up to the oxygen. He is, at least, breathing again as well. The grey undertone to his skin starts to fade towards just pale, a small improvement.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
Liansong nods to Skye's assessment of maybe needing a going over. "We can defiitely do that," he agrees. "Can you walk?"

The team gets Yaozu situated on the stretcher, and get it up at a comfortable level to push it.

Liansong offers his hand to Skye to help her up. Two fingers forward, two backward. Each with talons. It's curious. Those talons don't look as sharp as what one would find on a wild owl. Maybe he gets them manicured. And the little scales on his fingers can be seen. Usually he's too animated for such things to be overtly obvious. Unlike now, wen the hand has been extended to a person.

Quake has posed:
At first, Skye was going to go without the steadying hand. No go. Ultimately she took Song's hand with her thanks, and once she had wobbled a little, she was okay, provided she took it slowly. "I never tried that before." And hopefully wouldn't try it again!

Yaozu Lin has posed:
With the oxygen starting to circulate more through his body (in part from Skye's efforts and in part from the higher concentration of oxygen going into his body to start with), Yaozu's heartbeat becomes more regular and more even. This happens as they're just arriving at the doors of the medical facility. The stabilization of his heartbeat is a very good thing, and a thing which means that Skye doesn't need to keep it beating for him. Which will perhaps be of a great relief to her and to Liansong as well. Yaozu's breathing seems to have settled into relatively normal ranges, as well. It might be able to be optimistically said that he could be recovering from what had happened. Symptom-wise, at least. Though he still hasn't awakened yet.

Liansong "Song" Qing has posed:
Liansong holds steady as he helps Skye to her feet. Then they're off to Medical. He's quiet for the duration, probably listening to Yaozu's heartbeat and breathing. And the sound of the oxygen going from the tank into the man.

Once they reach Medical, doctors come to take Skye to a different room in the facility for her test. Liansong goes with Yaozu to get him settled to a bed and on a less portable oxygen machine.

Once all that has done, the room is empty but him and Yaozu. He settles to a chair, sitting half curled in it to allow his tail not to be sat entirely upon. And dozes off.

Quake has posed:
"I know, I know.. medbay for me as all." And so saying that, Skye goes to check herself in for a quick check up.