13643/An Unexpected (and blue!) Visitor

An Unexpected (and blue!) Visitor
Date of Scene:	20 July 2021
Location:	Suite A5 Yaozu and Liansong, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Henry stops in to check in and check up on Yaozu and offers some useful advice.
Cast of Characters:	Yaozu Lin, Beast

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Yaozu Lin has posed:
The weather took a turn towards the rainy side of things. It has been in and out of rain that has ranged from sprinkling to downpouring with thunder and lightning. At the moment, this late afternoon, the rain has tamed down to a drizzle. The sky is yet grey and filled with heavy clouds that promise there is more to come of such weather, though.

For Yaozu, this has meant that he's kept to the base and further, kept indoors as well. Perhaps the choice has something to do with the feathers, or perhaps it's simply a personal preference. The avian wears a pair of traditional Chinese robes, though they are quite simple in their decoration -- today, the outer robe happens to be a dark green with a slightly lighter green leaf pattern printed across it, and the inner robe is a pale green. His long black hair has been left mostly free, though the sides have been neatly drawn back and knotted before being speared through with a hairstick that has a phoenix charm at the end of it. Yaozu stands near to where the fake window is mounted, watching the rainfall being played out upon it. It's not real, though a part of him wishes that it were. His feathers are slightly fluffed, feathery ear tufts lifted, and he has his right hand lightly resting at the small of his back. He moves his left arm slightly, causing the sleeve to fall so that it covers his left hand.

In the kitchen area of the apartment, there is a kettle that has been filled but not yet turned on. And there is a mug that stands waiting upon the counter with a measure of silver needle tea within it, though it hasn't yet been made.

Beast has posed:
An afternoon where it's a positive thing to be inside, unless you like being damp, indeed. Dampness in certain physiologies is an embarassment and in others a detriment. If he hasn't showered since the morning, it can end up leaving Hank with a certain Eu de Wet Dog about him.

He's actually been here a while today, looking over notes he'd made during his sessions with Bucky Barnes and submitting a report. And that's when an extra casefile was handed to the blue doctor. He's spent about the last half hour or so, studying that and now...

There's a knock on the outer door, "Mister Lin Yaozu?" the voice is probably unfamiliar, unless the occasional broadcast has been listened to, on mutant affairs and public service to that end, at any rate.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Owl feathers aren't waterproof ones, alas. And Yaozu is still learning the proper way to tend his feathers. It's not an easy thing to change twenty-odd years of habit. His wings ruffled softly at his back, shifting and resettling there. Smoothly, he moved his right hand away from the small of his back, letting it rest at his side.

When the knock sounded upon the door, he tilted his head faintly to one side and turned to look towards the door, the gesture more owlish than human in nature. Feathery ear tufts tilt and turn slightly before laying back, and then he turns to start to walk towards the door. His hands come together in front of him, and a strand of Buddhist prayer beads is slipped to be wrapped about his right wrist rather than remaining held in his left hand.

His right hand returns to the small of his back as he reaches the door. It's with his left hand that he flips the lock on the door before drawing it open fully to look upon he who knocked. The unexpected sight of his visitor causes his feathers to slick a touch, and there is surprise that shows in his hazel eyes. "I am Lin Yaozu," he says, his voice showing a hint of curiosity and in the middle-ish range of baritone. "How may I help you?" he asks, his head tilting a touch to one side.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy looks up at the answering of the door. Blue. Lots of dark blue fur and those bright blue eyes peering up under majestically upswept brows. Hank grins, there's a lot of teeth involved and several of them are sharp and pointy. To give him credit, all he actually did at the sight of the owl man, was blink once. He lifts a clawed hand to wave, "Hello," and turns his ID badge with its visitor's pass to show it to Yaozu. "Doctor McCoy. I was asked to stop by by..." he looks at his clipboard "...one of the science directors."

Glancing beyond and back. "Can we have a talk? Not necessarily here, if you don't want to, or you could politely tell me to bog off. Technically, speaking that is. Or whatever vernacular you happen to want. Doctor McCoy. Beast. I'm here in consultant capacity from the Avengers."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
It's a lot of blue, really. More blue than Yaozu has likely ever seen on any one particular person at any one given time. And never before in such a way as this fellow happens to be blue. Though he doesn't look directly to it, he does notice the wave and the claws of the hand that makes it. His gaze falls to the ID badge when it's shown, the details upon it read, and then his gaze lifts back to the doctor's face. His feet shift back a bit, and his right hand moves so that the back of it is against the palm of his left hand. He extends his arms as he bows respectfully, his gaze lowering, and after a moment he straightens.

"It is good to meet you, Doctor McCoy," Yaozu says softly. He moves out of the way of the door, and then lifts his left hand to gesture slightly for the doctor to come in. "You are welcome to come in, please. I was about to make myself a cup of tea. Would you like one?" he offers, his ear tufts lifting. "We can have a talk. Here is fine, my roommate is working his shift and will be some time before returning," he adds, inclining his head slightly. "You have not given me cause or reason to send you away or wish to do so," he comments.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy's eyes trip to the tattoo, very briefly at least. It's squirrelled away as a reminder to cross-compare things later and at the formal bow, he returns the gesture with proper etiquette. "Domo Arigato," is offered and with this said, he steps inside the unit, glancing about at the very comfortable self-containment of it all, slitted eyes taking in the fake windows with a very slight lift of one pointed ear. He looks back to Yaozu after this, smiling again, only with less teeth involved. "I would love a cup of tea, thank you. However you take it is fine." Semi formal today, he's wearing a sport jacket of the neater variety, over a pale blue shirt that just makes the dark and longer fur of his arms stand out as inky. Slacks and oversized running shoes top it all off, as he slides his spectacles up his nose with the pinky of his left hand, the right still clutching the clipboard.

"So..." one has to begin somewhere, right? Yes. "I'm given to understand that you recently suffered a rather traumatic event. Confinement and..." he glances at the clipboard "...experimentation at the hands of the Asgardian renegade Loki?"

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"Doitashimashite," Yaozu says softly, inclining his head towards the blue fellow. He is both Chinese and Japanese in regards to his parentage, and speaks both languages fluently. Once he's come into the room, the avian closes the door but doesn't lock it again. He gives a small nod about the tea. "It will take only a few minutes. Please, feel free to make yourself comfortable, as you wish," he offers.

Yaozu steps over to the kitchen area before topping up the kettle and turning it on. Then he retrieves a second mug to add in a teaball with loose leaf tea -- the same kind as his own. He tends to drink it plain, and so he adds nothing to this mug either. He turns his head, to look over his shoulder towards Henry at the question asked, and then he gives a single nod. "Your understanding is correct. The... blueprint, if you will, for the experimentation was already within me," he says, a thoughtful note to his voice.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy doesn't glance to the clipboard again. This because he's already memorized it, but you know, clipboards are helpful for putting people at ease sometimes. He has apparently deemed it unnecessary now, settling into a chair at the kitchen table and loosely lacing his hands infront of him, whilst tea is prepared. "From a mission that went sideways in Beijing," he says it mostly as an audible confirmation. "You were cleared for duty from that." Pausing, he watches the way the other man moves, guaging metamorphic comfort from the kinesthesiology.

"How did you end up in Loki's clutches? That's not the most wonderful encounter to have had, I imagine. I was only in the periphery of the Battle of New York, but he has a knack of sewing chaos."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Whilst he waits for the kettle to boil, Yaozu brings his right hand to rest at the small of his back. It's a familiar sort of gesture. Zhao does it, but with his left hand rather than the right. His hazel eyes close for a brief moment when the mission in Beijing is mentioned, and he gives a small nod before his eyes open once more. "Yes. From then," he says softly, his feathers slicking down. The rest of his team had died on that mission, and he had been the only one to live. "Yes, they cleared me for duty after they studied what I had been injected with. It was deemed dormant," he says.

When the kettle boils, he reaches out with his left hand to pick it up, pouring hot water into both of the mugs before setting the kettle aside. Though he moves well, there is a sense of almost gangliness to it, a bit of being off balance. He's not fully used to his physiological self, and one who watches for it would see it. "I was being transported from the Avenger's Mansion back to the Triskelion. Loki appeared, out of nowhere. He put the medic to sleep. We spoke, briefly, and then he put me to sleep before teleporting both of us to Japan. Mount Fuji," he says softly. "He turned off the tracker in the device that I was wearing at the time, and he left it so that it would still transmit my vital signs. He said he wished to help. He also said he wished to cause chaos. I believe he did both."

Beast has posed:
"Hmmm," Beast presses his lips together to begin with, making a few more mental notes that will be subsequently unravelled and written down later. "Mutagenics aren't typically time released, but occasionally and trust me, I know this for a fact, they can trigger genes years and years after the initial event. Particularly if there's a degree of genetic atavism is involved," he gestures toward Yaozu at this, one quick and fluid open palm. Afterwards, he reaches for his tea, drawing it closer just to inhale the vapours of it as he speaks. "And for you, it has not been years. I do wish sometimes that they'd tap me more often than they do." He clucks his tongue, then shrugs and puts it aside.

"I would say that he likely did achieve both, yes." He considers what he's observed of the owlman, then offers "...If you would like, I can provide a list of balance excersizes that assist specifically with non-human physiology. The additions of tails, different centers of balance, retrodactyl posture and other things of that ilk tend to be things I've encountered more than once. I'm currently teaching a living man-tree how to walk properly."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"Mm," Yaozu agrees, giving a small nod. "This is what I have come to understand as well. My understanding of mutagenics is not very good. I am not a scientist," he says softly, giving his head a brief shake. He draws out a chair at the table, the one across from the doctor, and he settles there with his cup of tea. There's a small bowl in the middle of the table, with a spoon, both of which are clean, for the teaballs in the mugs. "It was determined after the fact to be the altitude that caused the mutation to begin. The altitude of flying from Beijing to here. The altitude of the plane used for the zero G training which caused it to go faster," he says softly. He tilts his head to one side, his gaze resting unblinkingly upon the doctor. "It has not been years. It has been only weeks. Not even a month, yet," he comments.

Feathery ear tufts perk up at the offer of the exercises, and Yaozu gives a nod. "I would appreciate that, please. My shixiong has been helping me with my martial arts, to adjust the movements so they are balanced again, as they should be for what I have become. He has a very good eye for it. He also advised me that I would have to strengthen the muscles for my wings before I try to fly," Yaozu says, looking down to his tea for a moment before lifting his gaze to the doctor. "I have many things to learn about making the best use, so to speak, of what I am now," he adds.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy takes a moment to withdraw a tablet from his messenger bag, which had been on his shoulder. Never leave home without one -- he checks the file only briefly for Ident number and then spends a few moments sorting through the files at break-neck speed before uploading a bunch of short videos to Yaozu's intra-SHIELD inbox. "There. Those should help. You would be the fourth individual in recent times, with a new set of wings that need a bit of guidance. I've got quite a number of calisthenics for newfound arial prowess," he chuckles at that. Later, when the SHIELD protocols have scanned the files for potential viruses, some instruction videos featuring Beast and Warren Worthington will pop up, for 'SO you have wings now'. The others are a variety of comparative anatomy studies and exercises that have been designed specifically for 'beyond human'.

The X-man Avenger returns his tablet to his satchel thereafter, nodding quietly. "Lower oxygen levels. Avian anatomy has a much greater haematocrit and more efficient haemoglobulin than human. About the only comparison in homo sapiens involves the gurkha people of Nepal. They have a rather unique haemoglobulin response, also." He sniffs, glancing upward. "Survival triggers evolution. Mutation." And he looks to Yaozu, glancing to the right hand. "That's worrisome though. You've been marked by the valknut, a'la midgard serpent. You might be on Loki's radar for some time, which could be problematic for you."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
There's a flicker of curiosity that shows in Yaozu's hazel eyes as he watches the videos be picked out and sent to him. At least the files don't need to try to fight their way through China's assorted firewalls in order to reach him. It gets a bit complicated, where his home is concerned. "Thank you. I will watch them this evening and start putting them to use. The sooner I become more accustomed to and more balanced in the physiology that I have, the sooner I will be able to make the most of it," he says softly, giving a small nod. It will all be useful information for him, and he's likely to apply a similar discipline to it as what he had (and what he still does) to his martial arts.

When his respiratory system was changing from human to avian and was in an 'in between' stage, his heart had ended up stopping due to a lack of oxygen. "Do you mean that birds need a lower blood oxygen?" he asks, a bit of curiosity to his voice. "Yes. Survival triggers evolution. In humans as much as in animals. There are likely millions of them that happen but most are useless and so are discarded or not carried to future generations of cells," he says, his tone thoughtful. He glances towards his left hand and makes a soft sound before slipping his hand away from his mug of tea and placing his hand palm down on the table so the tattoo can be seen better. "I asked him, when he put the mark upon me, if it was to remember the time with him or if it was a means for him to keep track of me. His answer was only 'yes'. I suspect that it does more than what I might think it does," he says. "I might be, yes. It depends on what he chooses to do." He is 'owned', essentially, by Loki, and there's not a thing he can do about it.

Beast has posed:
"No, quite the opposite. Birds have a greater oxygen need than mammalian species -- but their haemoglobin itself, is about five times as efficient at processing it than a comparative mammal. In some bird species, the haemoglobin and haemoglobulin response is even greater -- There is a species of goose that routinely flies over the himalayan mountains at their highest elevator, where the air is so thin that all other species faints. They are so efficient at processing oxygen, that there have been zoological studies to try and find a comparable treatment to anaemia and other respiratory conditions, by studying just how the geese are capable of remaining conscious at that high of an altitude." Which at some points is higher than commercial air planes fly. "Given how you have become," nodding toward Yaozu "to me, it makes complete sense that altitude and atmospheric pressure changes triggered certain adaptations to begin. They've done so with myself, in the past, to explain my comprehension and lack of surprise." He sniffs, adjusts his spectacles again.

"Would you like me to reach out to Thor, regarding it?" he asks, regarding the tattoo. "I imagine that WAND might want a word, but it isn't something that should remain, given... Loki's tendancies. If it can be removed, it should be."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"Mm," Yaozu acknowledges, giving a faint nod at the correction made to what he'd said. "I did not know that was the case, with birds. It is rather an interesting thing. I did not do much in the way of studying animals when I was in school. There are some things that I know, but they are not many," Yaozu says softly, his head ducking slightly. "I will have to figure out, once I can fly, what altitude would turn things dangerous for me," he comments. He lifts his tea, taking a sip of it before settling his mug back to the table. He tilts his head a bit to one side, studying Henry for a long few moments in which he's quiet. "Do you think it is possible or likely that future exposure to altitude will cause other changes to happen?" he asks, curious.

He considers the offer of reaching out to Thor for a few moments, looking down into his tea. "I do not know," Yaozu says softly. "I do not wish to cause any problems, for anyone. He may have caused chaos with some of what he did to me, but he did also help. The mutation is complete rather than still making me suffer through the pain of it. I am not sure that it would be able to be removed by anyone other than Loki," he adds. "I am not sure that he would agree to remove it or that it would be without consequences of its own."

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy opens his mouth quite wide, inhaling deep and letting the breath out in a whuff of air, cheeks puffed out and all that shebang. He takes the tea up afterwards, fishing out the tea ball and setting it in its bowl. "He doesn't have to agree to remove anything," he remarks after a while, drinking his tea down in one long pull thereafter. "By SHIELD standards, Loki is a hostile. You only need to look at your own incident reports to verify that. If you leave it as is, with that universal 'yes' definition, you leave SHIELD vulnerable to the god of Mischief. I'm not going to put that in my report by the by, but I /strongly/ advise you to take up my offer and seek other WAND assistance with its removal, or you will be a liability to this enterprise, not by your own hand, but by that of another."

No sugar coating it, by Beast. He seems to have made some kind of judgement regarding Yaozu's state of mind. "I am going to reach through the Avengers channels. But with all due respect... you pose a threat, as you currently are, mister Liu. Again, as noted, not by your own design but by anothers. I don't think I need to remind you that Loki cost the lives of -thousands- of new York citizens with his attempts at conquest with the Shi'tari invasion. And he has marked you, a shield operative."

He glances askance then, reaches for a card from his jacket pocket and places it on the table. "My contact information. I -am- here to help, I swear. But this is beyond my paygrade. I'll do what I can." He nods, then: "Thank you for the tea, it's always nice." Before he heads to the door.