344/Birb's in the Wood.

Birb's in the Wood.
Date of Scene:	07 March 2020
Location:	Cheesequake State Park, NJ
Synopsis:	Carol brings Kian to the amusingly-named Cheesequake State Park for a quiet meeting in the woods with Colette, to prove to her the birb hasn't been dissected.
Cast of Characters:	Colette O'Connail, Carol Danvers, Kian

---

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    A few days after their meeting, Colette contacted Carol with a proposed set of co-ordinates and a time for the promised meet-up with Kian. The location is accessible but nicely isolated, a state park in New Jersey, well within flying range. There's open space without too many eyes below, ideal for landings. There's plenty of wooded ground to shield from prying eyes, and a rough but drivable roadway which Colette can take to make her own way there.

    That's exactly what Colette does, a good hour before the appointed meeting time. This is mostly because she's curious to see if anyone else will turn up before-hand. She's curious as to just how paranoid SHIELD are about letting aliens loose. Obviously with Captain Marvel accompanying Kian he's not exactly unsupervised but it's a point of data for her.

    By the appointed meeting time, Colette's starting to regret having gone quite so early. Nevertheless she's stoically leaning against her car, a rather nice little Audi sports hybrid, scanning the skies through a pair of binoculars.

Carol Danvers has posed:
Well in this case she wants to be sure Kian doesn't get lost before he actually learns how to speak english and potentially a bit of deception skills.

She doesn't him landing on accident on Koney Island and getting into who knows what sort of trouble. Or Worse. Flying to Gotham.

So yeah Carol stops by the school and picks up Kian informing him that the young woman who saved him from drowning wants to meet him. She also it pretty firm about not saying >which< school he is going to or >where< but saying going to school is fine. It is for the protection of the students.

Carol takes it pretty slow having adjusted to flying with Kian and leads him to the location Colette picked out, after confirming that it isn't occupied with anyone but Colette once she arrives. Spy satellites are great.

Kian has posed:
    Growing up in a naturally-flighted society, one of the things you learn is how to translate satellite imagery and aerial photography into how to fly from point A to point B.  Well, okay, and there are the beacons with mindports to let you know where you are, but hardly anyone uses them much within a few years after fledging.  But okay, they want him to have an escort, so he will have an escort.
    Besides, it's Károl.  He can talk with her on the flight down.  So he has no objection to the arrangement.  And in fairness, he really doesn't have the innate sense of where things are like he would have at home.  Big difference between somewhere you've spent your entire life, and somewhere you've spent a couple weeks.
    One thing should be obvious to his flying companion -- Kían is definitely born to fly.  He makes it look effortless, and graceful even in level flight.
    And yes, he eyerolls a bit at all the rules and regulations and restrictions... which he ultimately accepts by sighing and saying, <<This is some Earth thing I won't understand, isn't it?>>

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    The other advantage of Kian's escort is that Carol can translate. It may be that wasn't a consideration, given Kian's contact telepathy abilities. It may be that Kian dismissed his inability to make contact with Colette's mind, as that occurred when he was half-drowned and panicking.

    Getting out of the city, then over the water of the bay and finally over the state park at least makes for a nice change in scenery for the alien. The state park is relatively wild compared to most of the planet he has seen so far, including some interesting wetlands with plentiful bird life. The dominant species on this world may not be flyers, but the planet has no shortage of them.

    As they arrive at the appointed spot, Colette spots them through her binoculars, and is soon waving them down. She looks relieved. It's not that she doesn't trust Carol exactly, but seeing is believing, and she can at last be reassured that the bird hasn't actually been dissected.

Carol Danvers has posed:
The flight down is chatty and a good time for Kian to stretch his wings. As to the rules well Carol just replies <<Just trust me it is to protect the kids and the school... it is a safety measure.>>

Carol probably needs to translate long enough for Colette to figure out if she is okay with the whole concept of that. It hasn't really been explained to her after all yet.

Also as promised no dissected bird alien. Man people and their imagionations these days. Then again Colette for some reason does seem pretty conspiracy focused. Ironic.

Touching down near Colette, Captain Marvel offers her a smile. "Hey snoopy. As promised one healthy Bird."

Kian has posed:
    Kían touches down as lightly and easily as dismounting a stair step -- and fairly flings himself at Colette, greeting her with an enthusiastic hug.
    And then he takes a step back, bows, and says in halting, heavily accented English, "/Kié/... nnh. He-lo, Ko-let.  Iss gud to see hyu."  It sounds more memorized than anything else... but it's a step in the right direction.
    It's also exhausted his sum total knowledge of English pretty much, and he glances at Carol, to make sure she's ready to translate.  <<I don't remember if I thanked you for pulling me out of the water; I would have drowned if not for you.  And it's good to see you again.  You see, I'm fine!  I can't say I understand everything going on around me, but I'm safe and healthy and even learning English now.>>  'English' comes out more like 'Ingliss'.  Hey, he's new here.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    The problem with secrets is that they are hard to keep. There are only so many places that Kian could be sent. It would be somewhere new, probably reasonably close at hand. It would be a prestigious construction, and the funding of the program would be unusual. If you have excellent contacts in the regional construction industry and the determination to do some thorough rooting around, it's just not going to be too hard to narrow down the options. Snoopy indeed.

    Carol's smile is returned in spades, Colette beaming and waving as if greeting an old friend. The 'snoopy' comment seems to amuse her. Kian she greets with a less vigorous gesture, an open palm with a gentle wave, and a smile that's broad but definitely un-toothy. "Hey you two. Good flight?"

    Kian's slightly broken English is enough to encourage Colette to smile a bit wider. "/Kie/, Kian" She replies. Peace. Yes, she remembers that, even if her pronunciation of Akiar is no better than his of English. "It's good to see you too. I'm glad to see you're okay. And learning the language! How are you? Are they treating you well?"

Carol Danvers has posed:
Carol waves back, still seeming amused. "Good flight. He is one of the best fliers I know.. may not be the fastest but he is graceful and was born for it."

She looks to Kian and then back to Colette, reaching out to touch Kian with her bare fingertips. "He says he doesn't remember if he thanked you but he wants to. He would have drowned without you. He says he is fine and doesn't understand everything around him but he is safe and healthy and learning english." she smirks a bit. <<She asked if you are okay but didn't catch the part until I translated when you said you were. She may want to hear it from you>>/

"You can actually talk to him if you want to, he has a form of touch telepathy .. contact telepathy I guess you would say. It isn't dangerous you just need to take his hand."

Kian has posed:
    Kían's eyes widen a little, 'listening' to Carol's English through the mental contact.  <<When I touched her,>> he says, it just dawning on him what had happened, <<I couldn't hear her mind!>>  He peers curiously at Colette.  <<I'm sure you have a mind... why can't I sense it?>>

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Or hatched for it," Colette comments to Carol, grinning. "Do you think they come out of eggs, or have live births? Mammalian /and/ avian traits. Parallel evolution throws up some interesting quirks, apparently."

    When Carol explains about Kian's contact telepathy, Colette raises her hand slightly as if about to follow the suggestion, but stops short, blinking, and lowers her hand again. It occurs to her that she's already been in contact with the alien a couple of times, once when pulling him out of the sea, and once just now when greeting him. She bites her lip and takes a half step back.

    Colette looks down at her feet and up again. "Uh. Can you explain to him that... that I understand it must seem very strange to him for someone to not want to communicate mind-to-mind, but... Well. We're not used to it. That intimacy may be a comfort for him, but it would be very uncomfortable for people not used to... he knows this. Of course he does, I'm sure he'd have encountered it with your scientists. I mean I... I wouldn't feel comfortable. I'm sorry."

Carol Danvers has posed:
That is actually quite interesting. Carol looks sidelong to Kian thoughtfully and then looks at Colette. She doesnn't actually translate whatever Kian said.

<<She says is worried about telepathy, that it is too intimate for her. You couldn't feel her thoughts at all yet you can feel mine no problem."

Looking back to Colette. "He actually says that when he touched you before, he couldn't feel your mind." it is a thoughtful look at Colette. "Wonder if you have a psychic bent." she is way way off but she has no idea how off or why. "Still I told him what you said."

Kian has posed:
    <<Oh.  Yes.  I think someone said something about that,>> Kían says, looking more baffled than chagrined.  <<Maybe there are different kinds of humans, some who can hear the mindtouch and some who can't?  That would make sense,>> he continues, musing half to himself, <<everyone I've met so far has some sort of Gods's-gift.>>
    That seems a good enough explanation so far as the little birdman is concerned, and he continues chattily, <<Anyway, as you can see, I'm well and healthy.  They had me in a facility for a while, and did some tests, and now I'm going to a a school where I can learn your language.  One of your languages.  I still find it hard to imagine why you need more than one....>>

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette is visibly shocked by Carol's revelation, and it takes her a few moments to form an answer. "I'm pretty sure I don't... I... I mean I'd think I would notice if I could read people's minds." She falls silent a few moments, looking at Kian with a puzzled expression.

    Colette looks back to Carol "Uh. Anyway, wouldn't that make it easier, not harder?" That's something she knows very well isn't true. Kian's people may not know about psychic shielding, but Colette is very familiar with the practise. The Martians were a race of telepaths too, but in their culture it was normal to separate a social and a private part of the mind. There was a time when psychic shielding was an every day thing, but she had believed that was no longer part of her life. "I dunno, maybe I'm like a... reverse telepath? Like less than zero telepathy? Is that a thing? I'm not exactly a neurologist."

    Kian's busy, friendly-sounding chatter is a welcome distraction. Colette can't help smiling. "He seems... happy," she says to Carol. "More than you'd expect for someone stranded on an alien world, I guess." Presumably she would have heard Carol's interview, and know that's something that applied to Carol once, too. "What did he say?"

Carol Danvers has posed:
Well.. Caro lis way off after all. She listens and watches Colette though thoughfully not really hiding it as she does. Then she nods slowly "Well could be shielding, could be a null telepath. Could be a lot of things. So far out of all the people he has spent time with though on earth you're the only one like you. Smallish sample size though Colette."

She shrugs "Not my business or problem though it just means you won't be able to talk to him directly until he gets a lot more practice with it." a smile though. "He says we did some tests and now he is going to school to learn out language. He repeated that he is well and healthy. He also finds it stupid that we need more than one language.... he just seems happy about life quite often."

She looks to Kian <<She thoughtshe might have a null telepathy .. she may have a god gift it seems...>> she looks to amused.

Kian has posed:
    <<Just like everyone else I've met so far,>> Kían says to Carol with -- was that a smirk?  <<You, that giant of a man on the beach, the dean of the school... well, I don't know if any of the medical staff at your base were, but I can't say I was paying attention. Even so, if all those, why not Colette too?>>  He shakes his head.  <<I know I've said it before, but this planet is weird.>>  That last statement is offered as if it were a universal truth.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette knows she doesn't have a God's Gift. No. A Devil's gift, oh yes. That's just as useful, but it does make her very wary of actually using it. There's always a price. She's not worried about her immortal soul, quite as much as she's worried about what her 'gift' might do to other people's. It's a siren song always in the back of her mind.

     Confident that she doesn't have any privacy issues to worry about, Colette steps forwards and puts her hand on Kian's arm, smiling at the bird-man. "I was... worried about you. I'm sorry that I left you on the beach. I mean the Captain here is a good person, but... I... I didn't know that then. I should have... I don't know. I should have made sure. I'm glad you're okay. When your English is a little better, I hope we can have a proper conversation."

    She steps back and turns to Carol. " He... his people are telepaths so I guess there was never a reason for them to develop more than one language, but honestly he doesn't know what he's missing. Ideas are rooted in language. Different languages grant different perspectives. I doubt our world would be so diverse without the hundreds of languages we have. Maybe that's an idea that will intrigue him. "

    Colette glances at the sky and then down at the ground. "I guess... you two should probably get airborne before it gets too dark. Thank you Captain. For looking out for him. For... everything." She smiles, and the smile turns into a smirk. She looks away. "I'll try not to mistrust you next time," she adds, looking back with a broad grin.

Carol Danvers has posed:
Carol peers at Kian as he basically jokes about how weird earth is. <<Well your not wrong>> still gently touching her fingerips to exposed bird skin so he can keep soaking in the english.

"He sas our world is very weird."

Then she translates back what Colette is saying, trying to do her best in case well Kian still can't hear her mind.

To Colette she nods "I don't take it personally. Your heart is in the right place Colette even if you are a bit paranoid about how you approach things." okay that almosrt sounds teasing and she grins.

Kian has posed:
    <<I had to go with the person that could understand me,>> Kían says with a shrug.  <<You didn't leave me; if anything, I left you.  And I can't really blame Earth officials from wanting to ensure I wasn't a carrier of anything.  I'm sure we'd do something like it if someone dropped out of the sky on my world.  Although I don't know what we'd do with them if they couldn't fly.>>

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "It's better to be wrong about something that you've prepared for than to be wrong about something that you haven't prepared for, Captain." Colette's response matches Carol's teasing tone. "Think of it as being thorough rather than paranoid. I mean as far as I can find out you actually surpassed Captain rank years ago, but I don't think there's any conspiracy there. I get it. It just sounds cooler."

    Colette gives Kian's arm a gentle squeeze before she lets go, smiling at him. She's intrigued to notice his shrug - the physiological similarites between Akiar and Humans - wings aside - seem to have lead to a few shared elements of body language. She knows that isn't universal and wonders how close in meaning his shrug is to a human one. "Learn English fast, Birdy Buddy," she tells him.

Carol Danvers has posed:
Carol plays translator back and forth on this one not censoring it. No need in this exchange.

"It does sound cooler." she notes amused "Also well Captain America is pretty cool too. But don't tell Steve I admitted that." she has to be joking.

"See you around Colette. Try to stay out of trouble and be careful about cub reporters." yeah teasing.

Kian has posed:
    "Am spik Ing-lis, yis."  Good luck parsing that.  Oh well, at least Kían is trying.  He glances at Carol, and then up to the sky.  <<Is it time to go?>>  without waiting for an answer, he steps forward and hugs Colette again.  <<Again, I thank you, Colette.  I owe you my life.  I hope to see you again soon.>>
    He releases her, steps back, and bows to her again, low, wings spread wide.  When he straightens up, he nods once to Carol.  <<I'm ready.>>