13655/Early Morning in the Gym

Early Morning in the Gym
Date of Scene:	22 July 2021
Location:	Gymnasium, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Bobbi comes upon Yaozu in the gym whilst he's practicing. The two of them chat a bit and Bobbi runs a couple of laps while Yao continues to practice.
Cast of Characters:	Yaozu Lin, Mockingbird

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Yaozu Lin has posed:
This is one of the times when the gym happens to be quiet. There are very few others who come here at such an hour as most would either consider it too late or too early, depending on the perspective that was chosen to view the time by. The fact that it's quiet happens to be one of the reasons that Yaozu has come here. It's before dawn, and the sky is in that grey phase of not illuminated but not dark either.

Yaozu has been here for a little while, though one might be hard pressed to tell -- birds don't sweat, and so there's no obvious sign of what amount of time might have passed. Much as has come to be his habit, he wears a set of traditional Chinese robes that are black silk, though these ones are marked with what appears to be streaked out white marks in the fabric. His feathery ear tufts are lifted and his hazel eyes are closed at the moment. The lengths of his black hair have been caught and tamed into a braid that snakes down his back, a length which is still for a brief moment. From out of either sleeve of his robes slips a wooden practice baton, his fingers closing around them before they slip entirely free. Once both of them are grasped, he starts to move through a practice kata of moves. He doesn't move through the series quickly, but he doesn't move terribly slowly either -- yet he moves slow enough to be attentive to his balance, to be aware of it and mindful of it.

Mockingbird has posed:
Bobbi stops in the doorway, surprised that someone else is in the gym. With a minute nod to herself, she might prefer to be alone if she suddenly had been radically changed into something mythical; the senior agent walks onto the track. She is in standard SHIELD athletic gear: black tights, a black closely fitted t-shirt, athletic shoes soft enough to climb walls in but sturdy enough for running. Her honey-colored hair is in a ponytail.

Voice echoing in the empty gym, "Morning, Yaozu. Are we the first?" She grabs a toe with one hand and pulls it up to her behind for a quad stretch, frankly watching the Chinese man begin his kata.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
With his hearing as keen as what it is, he was aware of her even before she arrived in the doorway of the gym. There is only the slightest tilt of one of his feathery ear tufts to indicate that he may have heard her approach. He can hear her footsteps, and the soft sound that her ponytail makes when it brushes her neck or shoulders.

At her greeting, which he chooses to acknowledge after the first few movements have been done, the sticks snick together as he moves them both to hold them in his right hand. His right hand moves so that the back of it comes to be lightly resting against the palm of his left hand, and he turns to be facing her, his eyes opening at the same time. Smoothly, he bows to her, the movement respectful, his braid slipping forward over one of his shoulders. "Zaoshang hao, Bobbi," he says softly, a small smile parting his beak just slightly. 'Good morning', in Chinese. "We are the first, yes. I tend to come here early," Yaozu says, watching her.

Mockingbird has posed:
Letting go of her toe, Bobbi bobs a quick bow, smiling; she repeats the greeting back, "Zao shang hao, Yaozu. Ni hao ma zai zhe meihao de yitian?" (Good morning. How are you on this beautiful day?) Unfortunately, I don't get to practice enough. Thank you for that.

She sits, legs split, and bends forward to stretch her back and further stretch her hamstrings. Her ponytail flops forward, obscuring her face for a moment. When she straightens, "Those are awesome weapons. Have you found your balance with them again?" Bobbi wants to find a balance between acknowledging his new life without belaboring it. The tattoo on his hand catches her attention when he moves, but she decides to leave the subject to Yaozu for now.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"Wo zuò dé hen hao, xièxiè. Ér wéi le ni zìji?" Yaozu asks, his head tilting a touch to one side with the question. 'I am doing well, thank you. And for yourself?' in Chinese. There is a small smile that parts his beak a little bit, for he appreciates being able to speak in one of his native tongues. There aren't that many people that he speaks it with, and even less for his Japanese.

"Yes, they are very good. Non lethal, at least mostly, so long as one is careful with the force behind any particular blow," he says, a thoughtful note to his voice. He exhales a breath through his nares, and then he gives a small shake of his head. "No, not yet. I seek yet to find my balance without any weapons let alone with any of them in hand. It is... challenging, and it will take some time to accomplish," Yaozu says softly. "My shixiong has been helping me with it, with the regular martial arts kata, but we have not progressed to the ones for the weapons yet. I should be more patient," he adds, his ear tufts making a slight dip to either side. He watches her as she stretches, and the sticks remain kept in his right hand as he shifts his wings to unfurl them, extending them to either side for a moment before he draws them back in and to his back.

Mockingbird has posed:
Having the gym to themselves won't last long. Other agents will be along with the same priorities, getting some physical training in before long arduous meetings and too much time in front of the computer screen. Bobbi rises and begins to lope around the track, pitching her voice to carry to Yaozu without concern. "I imagine it is like growing so fast that you don't know your own center of gravity any longer. That happened to me. I was tall very young and couldn't keep up with myself for a while."

The agent has caught up with her own growth and runs with the lightness of someone who runs often. "I like battle staves but should give those a try," she says, unwinded by the first lap.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Perhaps a day will come when Yaozu will be comfortable working out in the company of more of his fellow agents. That's not yet the case, though, as he's quite self-conscious about it. And quite self-conscious about his own lack of balance in the process of his practice. His head tilts to one side at her words, and then he gives a small nod of agreement. "It is much like that, yes," he agrees, his left hand moving to close around the other end of the sticks. "Many things are different, and I find that I wobble or lose my balance easily sometimes," he says.

"I am grateful that my shixiong has been helping me," Yaozu says, his head ducking slightly. 'Shixiong' is a word to refer to a fellow student of the same master, one who is more skilled. He feels as though he has much work to do yet, though., before he will be to the point that he was at when he was still human. "I am familiar with a bo staff as well. It is good for keeping people at more of a distance," he says, giving a small nod and watching her run. He shifts the sticks so that he has one in each hand again, and then he starts the kata over again.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The fact that he's not in peak form is a thing that shows in his movements. He doesn't go through the kata quickly but instead takes his time with it in order to feel the motions and his balance in them more. There are wobbles that happen at various points during the kata. The worst one is near the end, and it causes him to half unfurl his wings in order to regain his balance. With his balance regained, he stretches his wings out fully to either side, holding them out for a moment before folding them to his back once more. His wings are quite large -- it hasn't been put to the test, but they do appear to be large enough to allow for flight.

The fact that his lack of and loss of balance frustrates him is a thing that shows in the form of a spark in his hazel eyes, though it is perhaps otherwise difficult to read in him. He takes a moment of pause, holding the sticks in front of him, his fingers wrapped around both of them, and he takes in a deep breath before exhaling it slowly. "One more lap, for you, one more set, for me, and then others will be here," he says, his gaze turning to her and watching her for a brief moment.

Mockingbird has posed:
The sound of Bobbi's footsteps resound through the gym in rhythm with her heart. Despite Yaozu's wobbles, she does see them, they still are oddly in sync with one another. Now, she is shy about staring. His wing's are fascinating unfurled. Other's might see mutation or deformity, she sees beauty and wonders if they are pleasant to stroke. A childhood memory of holding a duck comes back to her. She remembers the surprising lightness of its body relative to its unexpected strength.

"I run nearly every day. How often do you practice katas?"

Yaozu Lin has posed:
There is a rhythm and a timing to such things, and these have a way of synching together subconsciously. Perhaps a contributing factor to that is the fact that Yaozu plays the violin, and in music, a beat plays a large part. His wings rustle softly as he settles them anew at his back, and he shifts his fingers to hold one of the sticks in each of his hands before drawing the sticks apart again.

A small smile parts his beak at her question, and he gives a small nod. "Every day. Sometimes, more than once a day," he says softly, his feathers fluffing a bit. "I tried to, when I was kidnapped by Loki. I could not, when I was kidnapped on the mission from the Beijing office. Except for those times, and for times when I have been recovering from injuries or when I was banned from exercising because of my blood oxygen levels, it is every day that I practice them," he adds. The kata is started again. One thing is for certain, he is determined, and the wobbles seem to happen in different places each time.

Mockingbird has posed:
Athletes understand injury. Soldiers understand wounds. Both require patient perseverance to overcome. Bobbi reflects on how much she has learned about herself during recovery from field accidents. He has a new form, new weight, new center of balance. She rubs a shoulder that aches suddenly as though reminding her of old scars.

She slows and comes to a stop in front of him, winded but with plenty of reserves. "I think you are doing such a good job of coming back from so much. Your attitude is...well, an example for other agents, Yaozu. To me," she grins briefly, "at least."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Patience is not an easy virtue to have and to exercise, and there are times when Yaozu struggles with it. It isn't always a visible thing. He's pushed himself too soon from injuries before and paid the price of having to wait even longer before he could get back to normal activities. His physiology has gone through a significant amount of change, on the outside and on the inside as well. His head tilts to one side in that avian manner when she rubs her shoulder, a flicker of curiosity touching his eyes.

"Is your shoulder okay?" he asks softly, once she's come to stand before him. His kata complete, he stands with the sticks together and in front of him once again. He ducks his head slightly at her words, looking down a bit shyly. "Thank you," he says, a bit quietly. "It is a journey of many days and of much learning. The alternative is... not acceptable," he adds. The alternative being to give up and to die, which isn't to say he didn't consider it at one point or other. "I must learn to be what I have become."

Mockingbird has posed:
Bobbi shrugs, glancing away as though reluctant to talk about her shoulder. Relenting, she says evenly, "Armor piercing round got me in the shoulder but they haven't replaced it yet! You know how those injuries go, they like to flare up and remind you."

Watching him closely, she bobs her head, catching the shyness but unwilling to let the moment go. "No. No, it isn't. I'm so glad you've come through it this far and are sticking to it. Not everyone can do that."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
There's a look, then, that he gives to her shoulder, considering it for a moment before he gives a small nod. "Perhaps it does not need replacing, hmm?" Yaozu suggests, tilting his head slightly to one side. "There are... pressure points. In the arm, back, front of the shoulder. They may help. If you wish to try it, let me know," he offers, a gentle tone to his voice. "Injuries have a way of reminding us that they happened, even after months," he adds, giving a small nod to her. He'll leave it as her choice.

That he is aware of what the alternative to adapting is might lead to the notion that he's considered it or given it some thought, even if he doesn't admit to such a thing. "There are brighter moments, and there are darker moments. This is life, and there have always been such," he says, a small smile parting his beak. "I am also glad for it. I can still help and contribute," he adds, giving a small nod. He glances towards the locker room door, which opens to admit a trio of men, and he shifts his wings slightly as his attention turns back to her. "It is time for me to go. We will speak more," he says, giving a nod. He shifts back slightly before bowing to her and then he heads out of the gym.