Owner	Pose
Yaozu	It is quite early in the morning. The sky above is still dark with the night, but there are grey streaks starting to stretch through it, heralding the coming dawn. The long grass of the park is dewy and damp, and in places there are dew-kissed spiderwebs awaiting prey to land. There are few who are within the park at such an early hour. Yaozu doesn't mind the solitude. In truth, he prefers it, in a way, as it means that there are less people to witness the fact that he is not as smooth or graceful as what he was before the mutation completed. He is not as he was when he was mostly or entirely human. He stands in a part of the park that is away from others, away from where others would even come to gather when they are here. There are a number of trees here in the area, though he's not attempting to hide himself amongst them. He wears a set of robes that are black and red, with white dragons embroidered around the bottom, at the back, and on the sleeves. The robes have been altered, which was in part a shame but a necessity as well. Part of his hair has been drawn back from his face, braided at the back of his head then knotted, a phoenix hairstick speared through the coiled braid. Near to him, the ground shows some marks upon it. Marks from his talons, for in earlier moments, he was practicing the martial arts that he knows. For this moment, he attempts to improve his balance, as that seems to be causing him a significant challenge. His hands rest in front of him at a bit higher than his waist, the front of his right hand against the back of his left, the fabric of his sleeves covering both of them. His eyes are closed, and he stands on one foot, appearing to be both calm and quiet.
Xiang Zhao	Quite early in the morning is when Xiang Zhao has a tendency to be out and about. It's still relatively cool at this time of day, and because of where he's from, he has a tendency to retreat to somewhere at least shaded during the hottest parts of the day. He is, like few others, wandering through the park. He'd heard rumors of a demon hanging around in this area around this time of day. And so, superstitions being what they are, Xiang has come to inviestigate. The rumors could be right. It could be a demon. Or the rumors could be wrong, and it's simply one of those mutant people. Who are, in his mind, sprites or ghosts who are neutral at least, or good at best. To most peoples' ears, Xiang tends to move with utter silence but for the occasional quiet sound of the bone and abalone shell feathers of his preferred hair stick moving against each other with his movements. But to some ears... there's the whisper of silk on silk. The quiet tread of steady, measured footfalls. The breathing and heartbeat of one who is entirely serene and calm. There's a steadiness to how Xiang Zhao walks that speaks of utter confidence in himself. That might not always be the case, but it happens to be the case in this instant. Upon seeing what has to be the 'demon' he's heard rumors about, Xiang Zhao alters his course to makes his way that way. His dark eyes take in the creature from the head down. The hair and how it's arranged, including the hair stick. The feathers and wings. The robes. The very familiar balance excercise that is one that he himself practices. He comes to a stop at a respectful distance, and lowers himself with utter grace to sit cross-legged on the ground. His eyes close and he enters a light meditative state. And there he waits, without interrupting the one practicing balance.
Yaozu	It could be any number of things. Superstitions have a tendency of running a bit rampant, especially where certain colours and figures concerned. That there are rumours of his presence wouldn't come as a surprise to Yaozu. Yet those who whisper such things have done so beyond his hearing, and so he is blissfully ignorant of their existence. Yaozu hasn't ventured towards more populated areas of Chinatown, or at least not more than what he's needed to in order to reach the park. Feathery ear tufts lift, perking up with the sounds that reach his sensitive and keen ears. Some of the sounds that announce Xiang's approach are familiar to him, and those that are not are not terribly difficult to be sussed out. He makes at least mental note of the calmess of breath and heartrate, and his head tilts to one side. There are many things that can be told of a person, if only others took the time to listen. He listens to the approach, and he remains holding the balance exercise, a flicker of curiosity touching him when the person seems to simply sit nearby. That's both a touch odd and unexpected. Yaozu could just turn his head to look towards the person that's come near, but he doesn't think of that -- he still isn't used to the full range of motion that he has. It's when he shifts his weight in order to turn and look that his balance wobbles. He wobbles. It brings about an instinctive reaction when it happens, his eyes opening and his black wings partially spreading to either side, and his hands coming away from one another as well in order to regain his balance. He gives in and settles his raised foot back to the ground, and as he turns, his wings softly fold to his back again and his hands return to rest in front of him. And as he sees that it's Xiang, he bows respectfully. "Good morning, Shixiong," he says softly, his feathers slicked a bit close.
Xiang Zhao	It seems polite, to Xiang Zhao, to wait quietly. Then again, if he were meditating or doing a balance excercise himself, he also wouldn't want to be disturbed. The sound of the wings opening is one that Xiang is aware of, and he opens his eyes in time to see the creature lowering its foot to the ground. "Good morning," he starts, and then pauses there, blinking. Shixiong? The voice. "Shidi?" His brow furrows and Xiang Zhao comes gracefully to his feet, stepping closer to the creature. To his shidi. "What..?" It's not often that Xiang is this at a loss for words! Usually, he's intentionally silent. He paces a circle around the younger... man? Bird? What?? And tucks his left hand at the small of his back. His right hand with its fan remains still, for a change. Then again, he is a bit distracted! He blinks several times, confused, but.... his breathing and heartbeat remain just as calm and placid as they were moments before. "Well. Shifu said you were going through some changes. What happened?" He comes back around his shidi's front, and stops there, facing him.
Yaozu	It is a very polite thing, to wait. And Yaozu appreciates it, though he wasn't about to keep his shixiong waiting for long once he'd realized that's who it was! He stares at Xiang Zhao, steadfastly, unblinkingly... owlishly. He had taken a sort of direct approach about making Xiang aware of just who exactly he is. Nothing quite like tearing a bandage directly off rather than fussing about with getting it as painlessly as possible. He gives a small and single nod when there's the questioned 'shidi'. What, indeed. His beak makes a soft snicking sort of sound, and he waits, letting Xiang have as much of a look at him as he wishes. Will he be accepted as he is? Yaozu has no way of knowing or predicting, and those inky feathers of his are all slicked down. "Mm," he affirms, about the changes, and there's a small nod to that. "A friend of mine took me to see him, some weeks ago. I... told him the changes that were happening, then," he says softly. His hands remain together, in front of him, though this time, his right is tucked so that the back of his right hand is against the palm of his left. "I did not know that a higher altitude would make the changes happen faster. I was part of a training exercise that was at a high altitude, in a plane. A few days after that, I was kidnapped by a mage, of sorts, to Mount Fuji. He pushed the mutation to finish, and this is what I am now," he says quietly. It might not cover all of the details, but it gives the most pertinent ones, at least.
Xiang Zhao	And there really aren't all that many people who are that polite in the greater New York City area. It's just a thing. Most New Yorkers aren't really very polite in a general sense of things. When that nod confirms this is his shidi... he abandons speaking in English for speaking in Mandarin. It's easier, that way. Xiang Zhao's brows raise, ever so slightly. Surprise, but it's subtle and about as much as he tends to show. He nods once. "Shifu told me that you were going through some changes, and asked me to keep as much of an eye upon you as possible, but he did not specify." Which, really, when thought about, that's simply how Rulan is. He never gives away what he doesn't have to give away. Xiang doesn't seem to have anything against how Yaozu looks. Then again, he wasn't raised in any of the cities in China proper, but in a remote mountain villa instead. A very backward villa that deals with demons and fairies of all sorts. "Is it better, that the mutation was pushed to finish?" He reserves judgement on whether or not to seek revenge on this fellow mage. If it's a good thing, more or less? Revenge won't enter into it.
Yaozu	It seems a fairly common attitude that many have, alas. It is something that Yaozu has also noticed, though also something that he doesn't mention. The slight raising of Zhao's brows is noticed, that simple indication of surprise observed. He seems to express so little, does his shixiong. "Mm," Yaozu affirms, giving a small and single nod. Speaking, at least, has started to be more reliable and a bit easier for him. Much like Xiang, Yaozu switches easily to Mandarin. "That sounds very much like something that he would say. I am grateful that he told you that much. Not much else had changed between when you and I last were in each other's company and when I visited him," he says softly, pausing to consider a moment before adding, "I am grateful that he asked such of you, Shixiong." As Xiang seems not to have anything against how he looks, Yaozu relaxes a little bit. He is too aware of the superstitions that both Chinese and Japanese people have about not only the colour that he is but about the form he now has. "It is likely better, overall," Yaozu says softly, pausing for a moment and tilting his head to one side as he studies Zhao. "Instead of it taking many days and nights that would be painful, and getting used to things little by little, it was all finished within less than a week of time. The process was painful, but perhaps not more than it would have been otherwise. It is finished instead of ongoing. It is... an adjustment, to get used to being as I am. I was housed and fed well, and given time for sleep even though there were times I could not find sleep."
Xiang Zhao	It's something that Xiang Zhao has had to deal with on occasion here. Not too much, though. That's because he's so aware of his surroundings that he's generally not in a position for people /to/ be rude to him. He's graceful enough he's long out of the way of anybody else and so doesn't tend to cause problems in that regard. "You are my shidi. I am content with keep a watch on you to make sure all is well." That is what shixiongs do, afterall. Watch out for their shidi, however many of them there happen to be. In this case, just the one that Xiang has met. Xiang Zhao nods at the answer to his question. "In that case, I will light three incense sticks and pay hommage to this mage with a prayer of thanks." He looks Yaozu over once more, critically. "You look healthy. I am happy that you are well." Only now does that fan of his start to wave a light breeze toward his face. His left hand remains tucked at the small of his back. For himself, Xiang Zhao also looks well enough. No undue paleness. Nothing to indicate stress or anything bad in his present circumstances. "You are going to need help getting back to normal with your martial arts?"
Yaozu	There have been times, perhaps often on account of his bad habit of looking down, when Yaozu has had to deal with the rudeness of people. Prior to the mutation being completed -- and he hopes at some point again -- he was possessed of a sense of grace that was not a lot less than Zhao's own. He gives a small nod at Zhao's words, then ducks his head slightly, his hazel gaze lowering briefly before looking back up. "Yes. I am. And you are my shixiong. I will try not to cause you many problems in your watch," he says softly, a touch of amusement and sincerity both coming to the words. "Thank you, Shixiong. I made the same offering when I was able to, after I had been brought back here from Japan," Yaozu says, giving a small nod. "I feel healthy. More so than what I had been when you and I last met. It is a strangeness, to be both comfortable and uncomfortable in ways at the same time," he comments, his wings shifting a little bit. He's still not used to those. Or the tail! "You are also looking well, Shixiong, and I am glad for it," he says, sounding pleased. Then he gives a nod to the question about his martial arts. "Yes. I am in need of that exact sort of help. My balance is off, and some things move differently. And there are these to consider, as well," he adds, his wings lifting and half unfolding from his back. Flight is not a thing that he's attempted, although his wings have the size to bear his weight during such.
Xiang Zhao	That's one thing Xiang Zhao hasn't had a problem with. Probably because he doesn't have that bad habit of looking down. One elegant dark brow lifts as that gaze lowers, and there's a sound that follows Yaozu's words about not causing problems. "Tcha." It's sort of a clucking of the tongue and sounds a touch on the exasperated side. "Problems will occur or not as they will, and there is little that we can do about them, save to deal with them as they come to us. Do not worry about it, shidi. What will be, will be." Truly a Taoist, is Xiang Zhao. Fix what you can, wait and see with the rest, and generally let nature take its own path. Xiang studies the other man for a long moment. "Mm. Comfortable, because you are feeling well. Uncomfortable, because you are not used to the new arrangement of your body, nor the new parts." He bows his head at the praise but comments not about it. He feels fine, so there's that, at least. He watches with curiousity as the wings half unfurl. He glances to the feet, and then thinks back to his time in the aviaries back home, to when there were fledglings every year. "I think I know how to help you, at least somewhat, with the wings. The balance I can definitely help you with. And relearning how to move your body so that it does what you wish." He steps back and motions to Yaozu with his fan, briefly, before he goes back to fanning himself. "I would see your basic katas."
Yaozu	Black feathery ear tufts lift at the sound that Zhao makes, and he tilts his head to one side as his gaze holds to his shixiong. "They will, yes. That is the way that problems seem to work. They wait around the corner until you turn it to find them there," Yaozu says softly. His beak makes a soft snicking sort of sound after the words are said. He gives a small nod, agreeing with the words. "What will be, will be. And there is no point in worrying over what might be until the moment comes where it actually is," he says softly. "Deal with that moment then." His attention perks a bit, and he gives a nod. "Yes. For those exact reasons. It is... I am different now. I am trying to adjust to it, but it is taking time," Yaozu says softly. He draws in his wings once more, folding them in close at his back and ruffling them softly. Settling them. He hasn't been fully changed for very long, to have time to get used to the way he is. The feathery ear tufts wobble a little bit, and he bobs a nod. "Thank you, Shixiong. I look forward to any help that you are able to provide. With everything," he says softly, gratefully. He lifts his left hand, catching a stray tendril of his hair, and he brushes it back from his face. The movement may be enough to cause the tattoo on the back of his hand to be visible. "I will show you," he adds, giving a nod. Unless Zhao does anything to stop him from it, he will step away to get himself enough space and then he will begin.
Xiang Zhao	Xiang Zhao nods firmly. "Deal with it in the moment," he says, agreeing. "Of course it is taking time. How long was it before you mastered the basic katas the first time around? Your mind and body know them, but your balance has altered, and so you must relearn them." Then there's a tattoo. A tattoo that /was not/ there before. That fan stops. And Xiang Zhao does indeed stop his shidi from going into the katas. He steps forward and claims that hand, without so much as a by your leave, and turns it so he can get a look at that tattoo. "That mage left a calling card, I see," he says, and huffs a breath out his nose. It sounds a tad on the irritated side. A line appears between his brows as he studies it for several long moments. Then he shakes his head. "There is nothing I can do about it. I am sorry, shidi. Please, show your basic katas now." Xiang releases the hand he'd captured and steps back to give room.
Yaozu	One of the feathery ear tufts tilts a little to one side as he considers, thinking for a moment. "It took time to learn them to start with. And years to master them," Yaozu says softly. "I have the benefit of knowing them, so it is not learning them from the start. But it is adapting them. My body knows the motions, but not like this," he adds, his beak giving a soft click of sound. "My balance is different, yes. Many things are, with the change from human to avian. I have not tried flying," he comments, a touch sheepish, perhaps. And then, his left hand is caught so swiftly, so easily, by Zhao. Yaozu blinks twice, and he doesn't try to take his hand back. He gives a nod, at Zhao's assessment of it. "A reminder. A means for him to know where I am whenever he wishes. When I asked him which it was, his answer was 'yes'. I expect it to be both," he says. His head turns slightly and tilts to one side. "Shixiong, it is quite fine. It causes me no harm for it to be there. It does not pain me. There is nothing that you have need or cause to apologize for. It is not a terrible design even though it is not one that I picked for myself. The moment did not allow a choice beyond giving my hand willingly or having it taken. I am at peace with it," Yaozu says softly, giving a nod to Zhao. And he does seem to have made his peace with it. He shifts his weight slightly, and after giving another nod to Xiang, he steps back slightly before starting to go through the katas. The underlying form to them is what would be expected from one of Rulan's students.
Xiang Zhao	"Yes. Exactly so," says Xiang Zhao. "Your body and mind know them, but not quite as they were. They have to be adapted to fit your current shape." He looks like he understands, about the flying. "It is early yet, and you have to strengthen the muscles for flight before you should attempt to actually fly, or you may harm yourself in the process. I will help you." He looks thoughtful at the tattoo, and his eyes fall back to it. "It could be both. Or that answer could mean neither or some of the two, or more than either." Zhao grunts and stares silently at his shidi, then nods once. "As you say. If you are at peace with it, then I will leave it alone." Not that he can do anything about it anyway. The level of magic in it is far beyond his abilities. As the avian starts to go through the katas, Xiang Zhao watches closely. And he knows them, so he knows where to stand to avoid being hit by them, so he stands fairly close. And as Yaozu goes through them, Xiang will take a moment, here and there, to correct any balance he sees is off. An adjustment to arm here, a tapping of his fan to the avian's leg there. Frequently a touch to his tail as he can see what it's doing to throw Yaozu off balance. All things geared to get the avian back to balance, back to his center.
Yaozu	"My life, or someone else's," Yaozu begins, his tone indicating that others have a greater value than himself, "could depend on whether or not I am able to change the instinct of movement that years of training have become. Since the changes will bring my body more to balance, I am hopeful that they will not take as long to master as the movements first did." He gives a small nod to what Zhao says about flying, and he tilts his head to one side. "I had not considered that aspect of flying. It makes it a very good thing that I have not attempted it already. Thank you, Shixiong," he says, gratefully, offering a little smile or trying to. Though he wasn't prone to expressing very much when he was human, the facial expressions that come across as the avian form he now has take some getting used to. "Yes. That thought had occurred to me as well, about the mark. Being at peace with it does not mean liking it, Shixiong. It means accepting it. He claimed himself to be a God, and whatever meaning and intent was behind the mark will only be known to him. We must find a way to accept what is beyond our ability to change. He mentioned a desire to cause chaos. If you allow your emotions to be stirred to anger over the mark then you give him what he desires," he says softly. He hasn't come to many conclusions over the mark, but he shares the ones that he has. He doesn't go through the katas quickly. The corrections are accepted, though the first couple of them cause Yaozu to duck his head slightly as though embarassed. But he does, at least, seem to get more used to them as Xiang makes them. Each time, he does make the adjustment, and since it's been a while since he's had someone giving him corrections, it takes a couple of them before he manages to be comfortable and relaxed with them. It helps that the adjustments have a certain rightness to them. The first correction that involved his tail was unexpected, and the feathers flipped closed before taking a moment to return to normal. It's still weird to have a tail! Once he's finished the basic katas, he stops and looks to Zhao with his head tilted a touch. "Again?" he asks, feathery ear tufts standing up.
Xiang Zhao	That tone, though. Zhao doesn't even stop to think about it, but that fan moves, just as fast as he'd moved to grab Yaozu's hand, and thwaps lightly, this time, right in the center of his forehead. "None of that, now," he says firmly. "Your life is just as important as that of others. In some cases, it is more important, for without you, without your training, there will be lives that are lost if you are not there." His tone, breathing, heart rate, none of them change at all. He's just as calm and serene as ever when saying that. "Mm. Mastering what you already know may take years, because you have to relearn how your body moves and balances." Xiang nods once. "Mm. You are welcome." Yaozu may not have shown much before, but his feathers will express a great deal for any who know how to read what they might mean. Xiang Zhao has a great deal of experience in the aviaries from his home. Hunting hawks and eagles, as well as messenger birds, are all still used with great frequency where he's from. And every student in training there is expected to help care for the birds. It's generally a daily chore, and one that Zhao had excelled at. He raises a brow at his shidi. "Did I not already say I would leave it alone? Why are you then telling me I must accept what I have already accepted?" Logic logic. "I am not angry, and I did not say you liked it," he points out. Still entirely serene and calm, just a casual observation. A logical casual observation. "I will accept it, but I still do not like it. It is an ownership brand. This is not an acceptable thing, to me. I can do nothing about it, so I accept what is. Focus upon your kata now, lest you find yourself off balance at the wrong time," he chides gently. Each duck of embarassment is quite ignored, and Xiang goes on doing what he's doing. Correcting where it needs correcting. If anything, he's actually better at correcting balance issues than their shifu is. Zhao has more patience with it than Rulan does. At the question of again, Zhao simply looks at Yaozu. His expression is entirely peaceful, but there's a quality to it, as though he's looking at an idiot. He waits. Patiently.
Yaozu	Indeed, that tone. The struggle to find a sense of self-worth has likely been with Yaozu for a lot of years. For more than one reason, alas. As the fan comes in to thwap him in the forehead, Yaozu blinks twice in quick succession and murmurs, "Nani?" It's not the first time he's reverted to Japanese when he's been startled. Those feathery ear tufts lay back, and the rest of his feathers slick down at the same time. Startled by it, he is! And for a brief moment, he stares owlishly at Zhao, and his feathers puff out in a defensive sort of way. "There have been lives lost that my presence and my training have been able to do nothing to save in the moments that mattered. People hurt and people dead, because of me," he says quietly. Oh yes, he's told himself these things a great many times, and Yaozu believes them, whether they are actually true or not. "I will seek to have patience with the process. It is difficult, to take such a large step back from where I had come to be, with my training. I will be of limited use while I am adjusting to it," Yaozu says softly. His ear tufts stay lowered, and it's likely that he doesn't realize just how much the feathers actually give away on him. The questions that Zhao aims at him, in regards to the mark on his hand, cause him to lower his gaze and to duck his head. There's a slight shifting of his wings, and he bows to Xiang, respectfully and apologetically. The verbal corrections are impactful on him. "Gomenasai, shixiong," he says quietly. He shouldn't have presumed, and he has only himself to blame for the words he earned. And he perhaps remembers himself a moment later, and adds in the same tone, "I am sorry." He's quiet for a long moment then, and he gives another small nod. "Yes, shixiong. I will try," he says quietly. He shifts his feet slightly, his talons leaving light marks in the grass. He takes a moment to study Zhao's expression, briefly, one of his ear tufts lifting up a bit. 'Again', was a stupid question to ask. Lesson perhaps learned. For this time. His wings ruffle and shift briefly at his back, and he gives a faint nod before he starts the kata again. How else is he to learn but to do it again and again until his muscles have become ingrained with the corrected movements?
Xiang Zhao	On the heels of those words, that fan strikes out again. Thwap! Right in the center of the forehead, with a touch more force this time. "Did you kill them?" The question is as softly spoken as Zhao always is. He steps closer to Yaozu, and points the fan, closed at present for the thwapping, straight at the beak. "Were you fully trained at those points?" His tone indicates that Zhao doesn't think that likely. He pokes that fan toward the avian's beak, bouncing it lightly off the end of the beak. "Of limited use? Do you not have a brain, shidi? Your martial skills are not all that you are." Despite this, his left hand remains tucked at the small of his back, and his manner, heart beat, breathing, all remain just as calm and serene as before. "Do not try," states Xiang Zhao. "Do." That is the idea, yes, behind going through the most basic katas again. Get those right, those are the foundation, and everything else will fall into place with less trouble. Zhao steps just a hair back as the katas are resumed. And again, Zhao reaches out to correct posture, position, whatever happens to be out of place. Even though the body is different, Zhao can still see when the balance is effected. This round, he doesn't have to correct what he had before, but has to correct other things. The tail being too high up, or too low down. A wing flapping where it shouldn't be, or lifting where it hasn't any business lifting.
Yaozu	"Nani?!" This, at least, as less of a murmur as it had been moments ago and at least closer to his normal tone of voice. His feathers slick down with the thwap of the fan, just as they had with the first one. Their shifu used to -- and still does! -- do the exact same thing to him. It's not that he isn't used to it being done, but more that he never seems to expect it when it's delivered. He blinks at the question, and then he shakes his head. "No, shixiong... I did not kill them," he says quietly. He has killed people, and though he does blame himself for taking lives, he mentally has them in a different category since he had either been defending himself or those under his protection at the time. His beak makes a soft snicking sound at the second question, at first, and he goes nearly cross-eyed as he looks towards the end of the fan pointed at his beak. "For some of them, no. For others, yes," he says quietly. During the mission where he had been kidnapped and injected with the serum that caused his mutation, the rest of his team had died. There's a soft sound from him when the fan bounces off the end of his beak, and he stares at the fan for a moment before his gaze shifts to Zhao. "I... yes, shixiong, I have a brain. My martial skills are not all that I am. They are a fair part, and they have a role in my work," he says softly. He hasn't been on a mission where his martial skills haven't either been used or come in handy. He gives a small nod at Zhao's Yoda-like statement, and somehow refrains from making the reference. "Yes, shixiong," he says softly. That said, he moves through the series of basic kata once again. And once more, he doesn't do it quickly, and as the corrections are made to his positions, he accepts the adjustments. There's often a small affirming sound. And sometimes, it might almost seem as though those new appendages nigh have a will of their own. After he finishes going through the set, he stops and his wings ruffle a little bit before he unfurls them to stretch them out to either side.
Xiang Zhao	"I do not understand what this 'nani' is," says Zhao. "What are you saying?" On to the topic of people who've died. "Either way, I am certain their deaths were not your fault. When you were not fully trained, you did what you could. And after, I am equally certain that there were circumstances in which you had no way to help them. Am I close?" Clearly, Xiang Zhao is observant enough to have learned much of human nature in his years on this world. Several times through the katas, and Zhao is having to correct less and less. When a round has been gone clear through without any corrections, Zhao nods. "Good. Now start again. This time, keep your wings spread for the duration." Wait. What? That's going to suck!
Yaozu	"It is Japanese. I was raised with Chinese, Japanese, and English. 'Nani' means 'what'. 'Gomenasai' is also Japanese. It means 'I am sorry'," Yaozu says softly, willingly offering the information. Zhao will have to figure out through experience that Yaozu generally resorts to berating himself in Japanese. He tilts his head a little to one side, and he lifts one of his shoulders in a slight shrug. Had he done what he could, when Jin Huang had been drowned? He should have been there. He should have stopped them. There is a shadow that passes through his hazel eyes, and his gaze lowers to the ground. "I should have done more to protect them," he says quietly. Thus they are dead because he couldn't do more to protect them, and thus it is his fault. "You... are not far off, shixiong," he adds. There had been circumstances. Time and again, Yaozu went through the basic katas. Repetition of them is what would turn their now correct form into muscle memory, into instinct. It was good, having Zhao to help him, and he was able to allow himself to relax a bit more than his usual around others. After the clear kata had been completed, he tilts his head slightly to one side as his feathered pair of tufts lift out of curiosity. Wait... do what? He blinks. "That will change the balance again," Yaozu says softly. Among other things! The muscles of his wings are going to ache by the time he's done! "Yes, shixiong," he affirms, giving a small nod. His wings move softly, lifting a touch and then spreading to either side of him. There will likely be new points of wobbling. A bit apprehensive of what will end up the result, Yaozu starts to move through the kata once again.
Xiang Zhao	The very moment those hazel eyes lower to the ground, that fan strikes again. Thwack! Right on the forehead. Again. "My eyes are up here," he says, using the fan to gesture toward his eyes. "They are not at your feet." Rulan hadn't been wrong in his opinion that Yaozu needs some attitude adjustments. In this, he is far less tollerant and patient than their Shifu. Xiang Zhao nods about the wings changing balance. "Yes it will. And that is the point. You have to know what your balance is when them at whatever angle they happen to be at. Thus, full spread. Then when you get it right, you will be moving them at my direction. Until you get it right and have adapted to them being there. You never know when you will need such practice when battle comes." This time, Xiang has to correct far more frequently. Even put a hand out to stabilize Yaozu during a particularly bad wobble. But he doesn't seem to mind. His patience in this regard seems to be a lot deeper than Rulan's had been. In this, his patience seems to be endless.
Yaozu	It's not that the thwacking of the fan to his forehead actually hurts. And he should likely be expecting it. But he never seems to. And Zhao is quick to deliver the thwap when he feels a need for it to be done, too. He doesn't flinch, but there's the slicking of his feathers and the flattening of his ear tufts. He gives a small nod at the words, and though it takes a moment, he lifts his gaze to meet Zhao's. "Yes, shixiong," he says quietly, accepting the scolding. Across the time that Yaozu had been Rulan's student, Rulan had seen him through a number of things that had marked him and shaped him into being the way he is now. The way he thinks does need some adjustment. Yaozu gives a small nod to Xiang's logic, finding it to be sound and to make sense. How else is he to get used to his wings and to having them? By keeping them folded up at his back all the time? They're functional and he should be using them! The notion of fighting while flying hasn't occurred to him as of yet. "Battle can be unpredictable, and it is best to have tactics that are fluid," Yaozu says softly, giving a small nod. There had been a moment, during one of the katas, where he had nearly entirely lost his balance. But Xiang had been there with a hand to stabilize him, a hand which he had gratefully accepted and then apologized for needing. And once he finished that kata, then he had gone through it again and again, until he had managed a clean set of movements. No wobbles, no corrections, no issues. Though by that point, his wing muscles ached significantly, and the position of his wings was drooped from where it had started. There was a physical toll to the rest of his body for holding his wings aloft and spread for so long as well, for it worked other muscles as well. It was a thing that Zhao noticed, and the practice at least for that morning was wrapped up shortly after before Yao was sent on his way.
Xiang Zhao	"Yes indeed," had replied Xiang Zhao, about battle being unpredictable and fluid tactics being the best idea. And he'd gotten thwapped with that fan, again, for apologizing that a stabilizing hand had been needed. And then practice is over, and the pair part with words of promise to meet the next day at the same time.