12411/Measure of a Monkey

Measure of a Monkey
Date of Scene:	12 August 2022
Location:	Delores Klein's private study
Synopsis:	Delores Klein examines Detective Chimp...from out of the room? Secrets are kept. Probably more secrets than either of them individually realize.
Cast of Characters:	Delores Klein, Detective Chimp

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Delores Klein has posed:
    There aren't many people who get to see Delores's private sanctum. It may just be an apartment in New York City, but there's quite a bit going on up where she lives. There's the rooftop greenhouse domes, then there's the fact that Delores seems to have taken over the entire top floor of the building below those. Her finances are not public knowledge, but that alone takes some doing.
    The elevator up to the top floor doesn't go to the roof. Roof access is only provided by stairs, and even then, only from the top floor or by those adept enough to be able to get in by various means. As the elevator doors open to the awakened ape, the interior is a juxtaposition of utilitarian antiquities and a gorgeous, luxury view over the city.
    Not too far in is a table designed to be sat at on the floor. One thing about floor tables is that they're a lot more considerate toward those with stumpy little legs. Delores is knelt at the table and faces the elevator, pouring tea.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will step into the room, taking a moment to wipe his feet first, they are kept cleaner than most folks, but he is barefoot. He looks around the place a moment, taking the place in and not showing a lot of reaction to the place, till he walks over towards her "Not bad." He says seems she has been able to do a lot better money wise than he has.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores nods with a gentle smile dimpling her cheeks. "I get by," she says, camly. She gestures toward the tea in front of her. "I will let you know that the tea I've brewed will break down any alcohol in your system in a little less than an hour, should you have partaken, today."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp moves to sit down opposite of her and gives the tea a dubious look "And why would ya want to go and do something like that?" He asks her

Delores Klein has posed:
    "To make sure I get good readings," she says, matter-of-factly and without hesitation. She then reaches under the table and pulls from it an antique bottle. "However, don't worry, I've got you a thank-you gift for after we're done. What's in here will go down so smooth you could chug the whole bottle, but I promise you the alcohol poisoning won't be worth it." She gestures across from her. "Please, join me," she says.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp smirks a bit and says "Well I have one heck of a tolerance, but I do appreciate the value of good booze over rot gut." He offers and takes up the cup to smell it before taking a sip of it. "So whats the plan for today doc?" He will ask her. He does pull his phone out and puts it on vibrate before putting it back in his pocket.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores eyes the phone as if she somehow didn't expect him to have one. Her smile fades as he fiddles with it for a moment, but returns when it's put away. "Once you down your tea, we'll go to my workshop. I've got a setup in there that will let me look at you." She quickly raises a hand, palm facing him. "Don't worry, there will be no needles or knives or anything barbaric like that." She lowers her hand. "I don't need to cut you open to see inside you."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp looks over and says "Well glad to hear that, I have had my fill of doctors who wanted to poke and prod over the years, it can be a bit of a time to find a decent vet to look over things.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores nods. She sips at her own tea quietly with the chimp. After the two of them have concluded that, she stands in the manner of an older woman, being careful, even though she doesn't seem to have any pain to be careful about. "We'll be going just through here," she says, gesturing to an inner door. She then turns her back on him to lead the way.
    The inner room is even more utilitarian than the outer rooms. It's got plants growing in small terrariums here and there, but even where there isn't that, there are few areas without glassware prominent. It might be a chemist's playground if not for the fact that everything was set up subtly wrong. There's a hint of animism here and there, but there's also ancient egyption and ancient greek on some of the bottles. Still, all the tables and counter spaces have tableclothes over them that reach the floor, making it feel a little classier than a doctor's office.
    In the middle of it all is an armchair. Walking just past it, Delores turns and faces her guest and gestures toward the chair. "Make yourself comfortable, Detective," she says with a kind smile.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp 's brow raises as he looks over the place taking it all in. His own background making sure he takes in all the minute details, never know what might be important. He then looks to the chair and a hmms. He removes his jacket but keeps his hat on, be it ill manners or just habit who knows.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Once he's seated, Delores gets to work. She mulls around the room doing this and that, but soon, she moves to one of the tables in front of Bobo and lifts the tablecloth. There's a flash from something in the darkness under there. For the briefest moment, the detective might see the ghostly image of a chimp. To be fair, he has't actually been worked on by Delores before, nor was he in the room when all that happened at SHIELD, so this might all be perfectly normal.
    Delores comes to stand in front of the chair. A sound like a bowling ball rolling down a lane can be heard somewhere outside the confines of the room. The faint sound moves around the room, getting more distant while Delores says, "Can I get you something to read, Detective? I'm afraid we've come to the part where I need to look things over for a bit then come back, and it may take some time."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp says "Do you have any good mystery novels?" He asks her. He did stay still watching it all as they go. The light makes him curious but he just asks "Care to explain the light chimp?"

Delores Klein has posed:
    "Let me see what I can find for you," comes the reply. She leaves and comes back a few minutes later. "Here you are," she says, offering him a Sherlock Holmes compilation that looks like something one would just keep on a shelf for looks rather than read. It is pristine and finely bound. "Try not to be bothered by after-images," she says. "I'll be back before you've finished that unless you read VERY quickly, indeed," she says, playfully smiling. She then leaves him alone in the room with all her various alchemical shenanigans.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp smirks and nods a bit to this. He has already read all the Sherlock Holmes books, so he spends his time looking about. He does stay in the chair, but he takes in every inch of the room he can.

Delores Klein has posed:
    The labels around Delores's workshop contain alchemical symbols and the words in ancient languages speak to a similar theme. While the detective may not know much about alchemy, certain terms stand out. There's not many notes about how anything works or what anything is; it's mostly all reminders to Delores from herself about needing to use this or that for this project or that project. None of it is the work of an addled mind, and it paints part of a picture that looks like someone trying to help people. However, encoding one's notes to ones-self in ancient, long-dead languages also implies someone trying to keep that a secret.
    It's more than an hour before Delores comes back. When she returns, she sees the chimpanzee sitting right where she'd left him, book unopened. She's got the bottle from before in one hand, a plate of what smell like freshly-baked cookies in the other as she realizes aloud, "Ah. I should have known you'd read all that before." She smiles warmly. "Well, I've got treats and news." She moves to a table and sits both on it, then rolls that table around to be in front of him. She kicks out her leg and hooks a stool, pulling it close to sit on it across from him at the portable table...it's really a push tray, but it's serving as a table, so whatever.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp turns a bit to her and offers her the book back, and says "Well I have been a fan for quite some time, so it is a bit harder to find one I have not read." He offers her. He will look at bottle and cookies but waits for her to continue on.

Delores Klein has posed:
    "So, I've got a lot more knowledge about how you work," Delores says. "The good news is, from what I can tell, you're a very healthy chimp!" She takes a breath and lets out, "What's less fortunate is that the way you've been modified is beyond my ability to tamper with." She shakes her head. "If you lose what the fountain of youth gave you, I can't help you fix that. I can fix just about anything else, though." She shrugs. "Well, besides your personality," she says, playfully, those dimples returning to her cheeks as she grins broadly.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp smirks a bit and says "Of course not can't fix perfection." He offers of his personality. "Well, there were two of us who found the fountain, and if something started happening to one of us we would probably end up seeing advice, maybe the fountain again.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores nods. She furrows her brow, smile fading from her face. "May I ask you a question, Detective?" Those rare times Delores isn't smiling are worth noticing. There's likely a bomb to be dropped just now.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp nods a bit to this and says "As I said the other time, yes you can ask and if I can not answer, I will at least tell you I can not.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores nods slightly before asking, "Why are you hesitant to share the location of the fountain?"

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp says, "If it gets out people could try to exploit it and use it for unsavory means. My friend and I agreed it is best we keep it's location secret, do I know people I would trust to know where it is, yes, but if they do not know, they can not be made to tell others.""

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores nods. "Of course," she says. It's clear that she's eager to know the location of the fountain, though why is harder to discern. She doesn't look any older than she did all those years ago. She might be in her 20's, but she doesn't look over 30. There's some other reason she covets the fountain's waters, even though she's trying to sit on those feelings and not let them show. A trained detective, especially one such as Bobo, can certainly pick up on that.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp looks to her and says "First you spoke of wishing it was not real, and now it is pretty obvious you would like to know where it is, may I ask why?"

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores smiles briefly, then says, "I'm sure it's not hard for you of all people to deduce that I'm the one who's been sending out anonymous parcels as The Alchemist healing people. I'm not just AN alchemist," she insists, calmly, "I'm THE Alchemist. I keep that secret, and so have you, so far. I clearly don't need the fountain's secrets of youth, but I would be able to do yet more astounding miracles using its waters in my potions." She folds her arms. "Of course, as with my other ingredients, it will need to remain an even more highly guarded secret," she informs him.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp nods and says "I will be honest I do not know if it is a limited resource or not. The best I feel comfortable offering is if I wind up back there, I will try to bring you back some, but to be even more honest, I am not sure if it will hold its properties when bottled.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores nods. "It is a miracle," she explains, matter-of-factly. "Miracles often crumble under intense scrutiny." She takes a breath and lets it out, her smile returning. "Very well, Detective," she says, offering her hand out for the chimp to shake. "You bring me some of that, and not only will I never tell anyone what it is or where I got it, but you will be my exclusive supplier. If you ever see fit to share your secret with me, I will take it to my grave."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp nods, a bit and shakes the offered hand, and says "Well, right now there are a few of us who do not age, but I do believe, I can still be killed." He admits "Not that I want to find out if it is true or not."

Delores Klein has posed:
    "Oh, you definitely can," Delores says, standing. She says it with conviction. There is not a shred of doubt in her mind. She moves to some of her supplies with her back to him again, working while they talk. "Bullet in the right place, either one of us would go down like a chump."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp nods his head a bit to this and says "Well lets both hope we both never find out," He offers in return. "Anything I can do to help with what ever your working on?" He asks her. DC stands and streatches

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores turns to look at him. As she makes eye contact, she seems to gaze through him. She soon smiles gently, like a grandmother. "We both have our secrets, Detective," she says, calmly. "You're free to stay and talk, but my work is and must be my own."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp nods his head a bit to this and says "Well, I can go if you need to work, I don't want to interrupt you if your needing to concentrate." He offers to her, plus he may want to drink and smoke but has refrained from here.

Delores Klein has posed:
    A nod from the unaging alchemist. "Of course," she says. "Just remember not to drink that whole bottle in one sitting, mmm?" She looks at the plate of cookies. "Would you like me to box the rest up for you?"

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp looks to her, and says "I can take some of them if you want, but I do not want to steal all your cookies." He offers.

Delores Klein has posed:
    "Oh, Detective," Delores says, kindly, her head tilting slightly to the side as her smile broadens. "That's kind of you, but I made them for you."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp says, "Well then I will take them with me, if you need me for anything you have my number right?" He will make sure to offer her one of his cards. "That is my office number." He pulls a pen out and writes a number on the back "And my personal phone.""