13508/When Chaos and Fate Collide

When Chaos and Fate Collide
Date of Scene:	15 June 2021
Location:	A quiet park near the shore of the island
Synopsis:	A chance visit by Wanda to a park where Yaozu was gives them a chance to visit with each other. Yaozu is beset by an unexpected bout of pain that ultimately causes him to pass out and Wanda teleports him to help at the Avenger's mansion.
Cast of Characters:	Yaozu Lin, Scarlet Witch

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Yaozu Lin has posed:
After getting back from the training exercise, Yaozu had returned to the quarters that he shares with Liansong. He'd retrieved a set of robes from his closet, then retreated to the bathroom of the suite in order to be able to shed his training clothes, have a shower, and get dressed in his robes. Regular clothes, at least for him, have a way of being rather uncomfortable to him after a while on account of the feathers that have been growing in. It's evening, by this point in time, but not terribly late.

The robes he wears are predominantly black, the sleeves of it long and flowing. There are panels of it that have fire-breathing sinuous white Chinese dragons on them. The sash of the robe is crimson. The undershirt is long sleeved and black, and one of the inner robes is crimson, the collar of which shows in contrast to the black. He's combed out his long black hair, then pulled a portion of the sides back to make a braided knot which he's then stuck a hairstick through. The hairstick is silver, and it has a phoenix with dangling tail feathers.

He'd taken leave of not only the suite, but also of the base, and he'd set out to wander the island somewhat. And he had come to be in a park, wandering the paths of it. At least, until he had come into sight of the water's shore. He had stopped about twenty feet or so from the shore, and he lifted his left hand to bring it to rest at the small of his back whilst he looked out over the water.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The evening is a nice one. And Wanda had gotten dinner, and then a blended mocha to go, and went out for a walk. Well, teleported to a park, and then went for a walk. She has an idea of where she is, and it's a nice park, so it had been chosen. She wanders the paths, dressed in blue jeans, a black teeshirt with a burgandy zipper front hoodie over it, and sneakers of black and grey. Her red hair has been pulled back into a loose tail that hangs down her back.

Her steps are unhurried as she sips her mocha, heading toward the waters' edge. There she sees a familiar silhouette. Yaozu. She studies him, uncertain it's actually him. She keeps her distance and walks closer to the edge of the water, until she can get a good look at his profile. From the side, Wanda knows it's him, so she turns her steps to angle toward him. "Lovely, isn't it?" Her voice holds a conversational tone to it.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Dinner had not been a notion that had crossed Yaozu's mind before he took leave of the base. There had been food aromas when he'd passed by the cafeteria, but that's pretty normal. And he hadn't particularly felt hungry, so he simply hadn't gone in and fetched any food. His heightened sense of hearing picks up the soft falls of feet approaching him, yet for a long moment, he makes no sign of having heard. His hazel gaze remains turned out towards the still water. He stands quite still, calm and at ease. He's far enough from the water that it isn't causing him issue, as of yet.

At the sound of her voice, there's a smile that comes to tug at the corners of his lips. Then he turns his head, tilting his head faintly to one side as he brings his gaze to settle upon her. He turns towards her to bow in that way of his, the movement a respectful and graceful one. "It is," Yaozu says softly, a thoughtful note to his voice as he pauses for a moment before adding, "And it is not, at the same time." It's pretty, and he can appreciate that. But it's water, too, and it's been a long time since he's been able to appreciate that. He watches the water for a brief moment longer, his brow slightly furrowed, and then his expression clears before he turns to look to her, watching her steadfastly. As unblinking as an owl. "How have you been, Wanda?" he asks softly.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff hears that thoughtful tone, she does. She studies him for a long moment. "It is.... but?" Oh yes, she heard that slight hesitation. Then he goes on to say it's not, and she raises a brow, the red arching gracefully. That un blinking gaze is noted, and more or less ignored. She's not bothered by it in the slightest. "I have been well enough. And you?" She turns and starts to walk toward the water, not stopping until the surf is licking at her shoes. She gazes out over the water, her jade green eyes somewhat distant with thought.

There's one thing for certain. Wanda is not the slightest bit bothered by the water. She takes a step back and sits down on the sand. Her mocha cup is finished, and the cup dismantled with her magic. It seems almost like she sets it on fire, because of the scarlet nature of it. That done, she unties and loosens her shoes the old fashioned way, with her hands rather than her magic. She takes them off, takes her socks off, and stuffs them inside the shoes.

Wanda rises to her feet to start walking out into the water. Just feet wet at first. Then as deep as her ankles. She keeps walking, the depth of the water rising as she walks further. The water's up to her knees, now.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
There is no explanation that Yaozu offers for how the water can both be and not be lovely. It does look pretty, with the stillness of it and the evening light falling across it. And yet, there are memories that he has that are tied up in the water, and they are memories that are unpleasant for him. Despite his own sentiments about the water, once she has approached it, he does at least venture somewhat closer to it. Not near enough to be touching it, or to risk being touched by it. There will be no surf licking his shoes. "I have also been well. I was able to take part in a training session today, and I found some measure of amusement in it. My respiratory system seems to have settled, and breathing has been much easier. My oxygen levels have been more stable," he says softly.

One of his eyebrows quirks up a little bit as he watches her dismantle the cup. It's a thing that pleases him, that it's properly disposed of. His gaze flicks towards her shoes, watching as she removes both them and her socks, and he tilts his head faintly to one side. His gaze lifts to her, watching her once again. The fingers of his left hand there at the small of his back shift, closing into a fist and slipping up within the fall of his dark sleeve. He doesn't like the water, and as she ventures deeper into the water, he turns a touch paler. "Is it... nice, the water?" Yaozu asks in a quiet tone. He doesn't like the water, and he hasn't for a number of years.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Sadly, Wanda has no clue about those bad memories. Just that he has some reservatins about the beauty of water. "Breathing better and easier is good," she says, glancing over her shoulder back to him. "I remember you mentioning, to your shifu. It's better, now?" She wades deeper into the water. Up to her thighs, now. She lowers her hands and holds them out to either side of her, fingers dangling in the water. "It's nice, yes," she replies. "You can join me, if you like." That's a loaded offer, isn't it?

Wanda steps further, not really having stopped but moving relatively slowly. She doesn't stop until the water is up to her waist. "It's nice and cool when the weather has been so warm recently." She turns in the water and glances back to him, only now noticing that he's turned paler. "What's the matter?" She studies him, but remains where she is in this moment. Ready, though, to move into action should such be needed.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"Mm," Yaozu affirms, giving a small nod. There's a brief pause, as though perhaps he might leave it at that, but then he speaks further. "It is very good, it is a significant improvement. It was... concerning, for a time. It seems normal, now. I have even been able to return to practicing some of my martial arts again," he says softly. He was even in a fight with satanists, though he doesn't mention that part of things. He holds himself steady at the shore, though as she wades deeper, he can't help but to watch her go, putting an effort to breathing normally -- or at least, as close to normal as he can. It makes him nervous, but he's trying not to let it show.

He can join her, technically. Except that he can't, because of the fear, and this is something that has found a way of ruling over all. His left hand remains at the small of his back, his fingers clenched closed. His right hand, meanwhile, has also vanished into his sleeve. The set of prayer beads that he doesn't always wear have been slipped from around his right wrist, the fingers of his right hand methodically and without thought slipping one bead over, then the next, and so forth. "It is...," he begins, pausing there for a moment, his tongue flicking briefly out to damp his lips, the next words coming quieter, "the water." He was going to say that it's nothing, but there's something that pushes the lie out of place and has him speak the truth instead. Perhaps it's something about her -- he isn't sure, and he doesn't know. He hasn't talked to anyone about -this- since he happened, and it had been Rulan that he'd told.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff nods to him, expression thoughtful as she studies him further. "Back to normal is good," she observes. It means life as normal can resume. Such as it is. If she can see how nervous he is at this point, she doesn't comment. Perhaps she doesn't notice that his breathing is a touch off. There's a good fifteen or twenty feet between them at this point, so maybe that's why. But Wanda had noticed, from the previous time they'd met, that he has a habit of hiding his hands in his sleeves when all is not precisely well.

And then he explains. Or, well, he starts an explanation, becuase two words is not really all that explanatory. "The water?" She prompts lightly. Then, in case that's not enough of a prompt, she continues. "What about the water bothers you?" Without thinking at that point, Wanda dives forward, arms outstretched before her, under the water. But toward the shore. Swimming is faster than wading. She can be seen easily within the water coming closer at a fair speed. Then she pops out of the water halfway back to the shore and that much closer to Yaozu. Her red hair slicked back, Wanda lifts her left hand and wipes the water out of her face a little bit.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"Normal function, at least, but not normal in form, anymore. It is... altered from what it was," Yaozu says softly, one of his eyebrows quirking up just a touch. His respiratory system is no longer like a regular person's. It makes a certain amount of sense, as there are other parts of him that are no longer like a regular person either. But he can, at least, be physically active again, and that's a very reassuring thing. Though he still wears the pulse oximeter about his right thumb. Just in case. Though his hands remain vanished away beneath the cover of the dark sleeves of the robe that he wears.

"Mm," Yaozu affirms, when she prompts him about the water. And he's quiet for a moment afterwards, letting the question she's asked sink in. When she dives forward, he takes half a step forward and no more than that, a sharp breath being taken in by him. The muscles of his jaw flicker with a moment of tension, and he's unable to force himself to look away from her form beneath the water. He slowly lets out the breath that he didn't realize until that moment that he was holding, and then he gives a very faint shake of his head. Not to negate her question, but more in the manner of trying to chase away the image that has surfaced in his head. Dead, drowned, lifeless. He had been too late. He brings his hazel gaze to her, focuses on the green of her eyes and the rest of her features. "The water killed someone that I cared about," Yaozu says quietly. Which is both correct and inaccurate at the same time. It was a means, but the water didn't kill on its own.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"Altered is irrelevant," says Wanda, water dripping from her hair and down her back. "So long as functionality has returned. If you can function as you are used to functioning, then anything that might have been altered doesn't really matter." Wanda wades through the last bit of water as she continues on toward him. She nods to his words. "Water is very capable of killing someone. Especially in rivers or the ocean. Under currents can be very bad. Is that what happened?"

Wanda has no real way of knowing, and so she has to ask. She steps out of the water and over to Yaozu, reaching out in an attempt to snag the cloth of his right arm. Attempting them to draw him along with her. But /away/ from the water, not toward it. Away from the stress she can see it's causing him. "Come," she says. "Come away, and you can tell me all you desire to speak of."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The Chinaman tilts his head to one side, his hazel gaze following her movements, holding to her face. "Yes, this is very true. Altered is not important. The function is," Yaozu agrees in a soft tone, giving a small nod to her. "The function is improved, to what it had been before," he adds, still in a soft tone. Then he blinks at her statement about the water, her question, and he gives a faint shake of his head. He doesn't immediately answer, and his tongue flicks out briefly to damp his lips. "No. There were others," he says in a quieter voice.

Perhaps the proximity of the water plays a part in why he speaks a bit sparsely about it, or perhaps it's the situation itself. He doesn't move away from her attempt to snag his sleeve, or his arm, if that's where her intention lies. A loop of the prayer beads slips free of his hand, dangling past the edge of his sleeve. Beads made of lava rock. And he lets her draw him away from the water's shore. The water does distress him, and further is a source of fear, even though this is a different sort of situation. "Xiexie ni, Wanda," he says quietly, inclining his head towards her, his gaze lowered. And for a few steps' worth of walking away from the shore of the water, then there's a hesitant step taken that seems the sort someone with tender feet would take, and then he stumbles. There's a sharp intake of breath, a wince, a furrow of his brow, though any greater reaction to the new pain in his feet is at least attempted to be withheld.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"Ooh." Wanda sounds pleased. And a bit cheerful with functionality being improved rather than the reverse. "That's good! Improved is definitely better." She seems the type that can range from cheerful to somber depending on the situation she happens to be in. And her mood overall. She goes quiet as he shakes his head. And she doesn't push him, waiting patiently for him to decide what he wishes to say. If he wishes to say anything. She tilts her head curiously at him. "Others?" The prompt is gentle, and she remains patient, willing to hear whatever he wants to share.

Wanda doesn't snag his arm. She doesn't do more than grasp the fabric of his sleeve between her fingers and thumb. If she notices the dangling lava rock beads, she doesn't comment on them. Maybe she didn't see them or hear them clacking together as the one loop slipped to dangle. "You're welcome," she replies. She slows as his steps go from normal to hesitant. Further, she stops when he stumbles and that sharp breath can be heard, her head turning to look at him.

Now she moves her hand to support his arm, her hand under it. "What is wrong, Yaozu?" She studies his face. It's clear, very clear, that she knows /something/ is wrong, but she isn't certain just what that might be.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
What he'll end up with when the mutation has finally settled, Yaozu doesn't know. Not even Liansong knows, and he's got multiple doctorates in fields of study that are related. It's an unpredictable thing. He doesn't speak further about the changes to his respiratory system, though there is a smile that tugs at the corners of his lips at the cheerfulness that had been in her voice to hear. Yet the smile vanishes at that single word question of hers, and he gives a small and single nod in response. "Yes. Others. They were... classmates," Yaozu says quietly. There's something about the way he says it that might well imply that though they were classmates, they were not friends. "He was a transfer student. One day a week. Jin Huang," he adds.

There is, naturally, more than just what little he's shared that makes up the story of why he doesn't like the water, but those small pieces and tidbits are flickers of insight. Very small pieces of the puzzle, but not enough to get a full or clear picture. And he may even have intended to share more of that very story if there hadn't been the sudden onslaught of pain from his feet. Or at least, that was where the pain had started first, though it's tracking upwards. Stubborn as he is, Yaozu tries to take another step, even just a small one. And much as with the last step that he'd attempted, he stumbles, sucks in a breath and not only leans on her arm but his fingers grip it as well. His cheeks are a touch paler, his breathing a bit quicker, and though he bit back most of the sound with a clenched jaw, it's clear that he's suffering some fair amount of pain.

He shakes his head a little bit at her question, a flicker of fear rising to join the glint of pain that's in his hazel eyes. He doesn't know exactly what the problem is. "My feet... very painful," he manages to say. It takes only a moment more for the pain to have crept up to his knees, and he can no longer keep his weight on his feet as he was. And he starts to fall to his knees.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
There's always more to stories than are generally shared. Almost always. Wanda doesn't ask, but she does file the information away. Classmates. Transfer student. Once a week. Jin Huang. Research may just be necessary. Wanda nods, but doesn't ask, still. Especially not as his feet start hurting him so. And as he starts to go down to his knees, Wanda shakes her head. Her magic flares to life around her hands and catches him within gentle tendrils of it.

"You need medical condition. Where can I take you? If you have nowhere, I'm taking you back to base. We have top medical there." There's a firm thread to her voice as she says this, and then, Wanda shakes her head. Her magic flares again, as she decides to move first, to the nearby bench. She moves quickly and with purpose, and gently lowers him to settle to the bench. "Can I do anything to help, beyond taking you to someone more qualified to help you than I am?"

Yaozu Lin has posed:
That she was given those little tidbits, those small pieces, is more than anyone else has been given about the story from Yaozu. Were it not for the pain climbing his legs, perhaps he might have spoken at more length on it, or perhaps not. He is, by his own intent, not an easy person to read. He had expected the ground to grant a sharp greeting to his knees when he landed to it, but instead he finds himself caught and supported by Wanda's magic.

When she mentions his need for medical attention, he gives only a small and single nod, the gesture causing the dangling feathers of his hairstick to chime softly together. He does need it, he knows, not that he believes there is anything that can be done besides dosing him up with painkillers and possibly sedating him. "Xiexie ni," he whispers, his hazel gaze lifting to her green ones, if only for a moment before he closes his eyes. It's a means for him to try to focus even just a little bit on trying to block the pain. His breathing is quick, uneven, and it's a thing that he tries to get under control as well, with effort and with minimal success since the pain continues. His heart rate is quicker as well.

She had mentioned taking him to base, and to him that means the Shield base. And the offer causes a flash of panic within him, his hazel eyes opening to look at her. He hadn't told her about Shield. Is she in his head? Could she be in his head? He doesn't know! But she was here with him, and she was offering help, and that didn't deserve his temper even if she was in his head. "To base, please," he requests of her, quietly, giving a small nod. He doesn't know if anywhere else would be able to access the full of his medical file.

"Tell Liansong," he says quietly. He tries to keep the pain from forcing or pulling any sounds from him, but he's not fully successful, and it wrenches a groan from him as it progresses ever further. He turns paler, a bit grey, and there's a soft almost whimper that comes from him, darkness rising up within him to claim him as he passes out, slumping to one side, his eyes falling closed.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff has filed those little tidbits quite away for further perusal at a later time Right now is no that time. She nods at his expression of thanks again, and keeps him off the ground using her magic. As he agrees to her taking him to the base, she nods and sclarlet flames gather around them as she builds the spell. "I don't," is all she gets out before two things happen.

First, he passes out. And on the heels of that, the teleportation starts.
"Know who that is," she finishes as they arrive in the medical ward at the Avengers mansion. Wanda moves quickly. First calling for help, and then getting Yaozu to a bed. Then all she can do is stand back and watch. And worry. And wonder who this mysterious Liansong is.