Owner	Pose
James Barnes	Bucky has a house, a place he can finally say is /his/ home. It's not SHIELD housing them because they want to make sure he's not a danger, or living with The Avengers where he's not always entirely certain he belongs - no matter how much Steve tells him that he does. He undoubtedly told Shuri all about it at some point, phone call or letter - yes the hand written kind. So, she'd have the address. Today finds him in the living room wearing a pair of comfortable joggers and a plain black t-shirt. Both are lightly stained in a vibrant palette of colors - colors he's using on the picture he's currently painting. Landscapes aren't typically his thing, but what he's working on is the sun setting over the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia.
Shuri	Shuri has only recently, in the last two days, returned to the States and despite her assurances that she will be perfectly fine visiting Bucky, is accompanied by a Dori Milaje. Both of them are dressed in fine clothing, likely something woven with vibranium of Shuri's personal design. A black blaiser and slacks, with her braids pulled into a neat ponytail with two braided strands hanging down across her tattoo marked face. As always she carries her gauntlets, with comfortable shoes given the turrain. Following the ''hand written'' letter she'd received with the address for Barnes, less than lavish, estate. "It will be fine, Techi'a. You wait outside." Deligent, but watchful, Shuri's personal Dori Milaje stands dutifully at the door while the Princess wraps her gauntleted knuckles on the doors frame. "Sergeant Barnes. It is Shuri." She'd sent a message, but it was by technological means, so it may or may not have actually gotten to him depending on how frequently he checks his cellphone.
James Barnes	The knock at the door triggers an excited barking session from Lili, Bucky's dog. That's probably new too. With one last brush stroke put to his painting, he stands and heads for the front door. Only to throw it open and immediately embrace Shuri and a hug that might border on a little too tightly and definitely lifts her off her feet. Here's to hoping it doesn't get him unalive by her 'chaperones'. "Missed you, Malishka (little one)", he says before putting her feet back on the ground again - provided he's not unalived. He takes a step back and adds, "You need to stop growing up before I have to start beating 'boys' away from you with a stick." He holds the door open for her to come inside. It's small, but it's cozy - other than the disturbingly lacking bedroom - and it's /his/.
Shuri	The sudden assault of an embrace does draw the immediate ire of the Dori Miljage, but a raised hand from the Princess stalls any direct oposition to said hug. Since Shuri laughs, in a quiet kind of way, and returns the hug until she's set back down. "I have tried to tople the ever approaching inevitability of aging, but it has proven incredibly complicated... as far as villains go." Once she's set back down, both hands smooth out her blaiser and slacks. Toes wiggling in her slips, all of which couple stylishness, comfort, and probably (almost certainly) protection. She regards his arm, tilting her head slightly, "I see you are still carting around three decade old tech." Teasing. A grin on her face. Until she spies Lili. Brown eyes go wide and she kneels down, clapping her palms on bent thighs, "Oh, how is this?! You did not tell me you had a new roommate!"
James Barnes	"That's Lili," Bucky replies. The big beastly German Shepherd wags her entire butt in his over exuberant greeting. She looks a little ridiculous in his approach, butt still wagging. Happy dog, happy dog, haphaphappy dog! Shuri is greeted by wet nose nuzzles and a few sloppy dog kisses before Lili settles back on her haunches, tongue lolling out to one side. She gives one little yip of a bark that has Bucky moving to a counter in the kitchen to retrieve a small jar that has 'Treats' inside a little paw print etched into the side. "She already likes you it seems, but one or two of these will seal the deal." He hands the container over and leans against the counter to just watch the two of them. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" is his reply in regards to the arm before he backtracks to... "Well, I've barely aged a day in decades?"
Shuri	"Lili." Shuri repeats after a glance up at James, then back to the dog wagging her tail in approach. A clipped laughter, nearly knocked over by the sudden affection, but the Princess wraps her arms around the k9s neck and accepts all because Dogs should be cherished. Palm resting on the back of Lili's head when she stands, scratching between her ears before moving to join James near the counter where she's provided the container of treats. "That is not my understanding of technology." Side eyeing him with a smirk, "Even things that are not broken can be fixed." She is pretty steadfast in that belief, but doesn't push. His arm is his arm.... even if she's absolutely certain, and not at all quiet about it, that she could 'make it better'. Two treats are pulled from the container and tossed up for Lili to snatch out of the air. Techi'a remains outside, adjusting her blaiser. Looking stern and uncomfortable. "I was concerned that perhaps something had happened when you began sending letters on paper. That maybe you had regressed a few decades." Another smirk, holding out the container. "But you are right, you do not look a day over 70."
James Barnes	"Sixty," he corrects. "You hungry? Want something to drink?" Bucky trying to play the dutiful host borders on awkward but he should get an A for Effort. Of course Lili snatches the treats readily and sits down to look cute, wag her tail and give soulful eyes. It's dog language for 'more please'. But she doesn't jump or outright /whine/ to beg. She's better than that. "All the cell phones and computers, they have their place but a personal letter should be personal," he points out. He's smiling though, watching his girls interact. He still doesn't offer that smile to many people, but it comes easier these days for the people he chooses to grace with it. "Maybe some day." It's that he doesn't absolutely trust Shuri and her abilities, it's just the idea of it. Anything that has to do with modifying anything about himself just makes him nervous - understandable perhaps given who was doing the modifications the most. "I do have something that I could use your eyes on," he adds, that smile fading.
Shuri	"Sixty." Shuri repeats, rolling her eyes at the clarification. It's all very good natured, as she gives the puppy, big puppy, one last treat she'd taken before handing the box back to Bucky. "My mother still writes hand written letters. My grandmother? She has a ''pen pal'' for over fifty years..." Hands on her thin waist, above the studded belt through her slacks belt-rings. The small opened end of her blaiser displays a bit of midrift. Where she's gotten a belly button ring. Something stylish, but dangly. "It was very nice to recieve." Because she too can be polite. Despite the hosts awkwardness, she dips her head. "Some water would be nice." She's never been particularly good at hosting either, so she completely understands. Now finding a place to lean with an inclination of her head at the mention of having something he wants her to lay eyes on. "Oh? Do you have an old 90s cellphone you want me to convert to digital?" snickering, she shakes her head. "Sorry... it has been too long, I have to catch up on all the missed teasing."
James Barnes	Water Bucky can do. He fetches a bottle from the fridge and actually pours it into a nice clean glass, adding ice to keep it chilled. But he doesn't immediately hand it off to Shuri, instead he nods towards the living room. "Let's sit down." The fact that he doesn't rise to her teasing might be an indication of the seriousness of the discussion to come. Lili follows along and curls herself up on a big dog bed beside one of the over-sized love seats. The air still smells of paint and the turpentine he uses to clean his brushes.
Shuri	Shuri picks up on this. The smirk slides from her face when she nods and moves to follow him towards the living room where she finds somewhere to take a seat. Smoothing down her legs before bringing one up to cross the other. She slouches, but it's not as bad as some individuals her age. Her mother would almost certainly still slap her in the shoulders if she saw it, though. Perverbial hair down moment. "This must be important." Stating the obvious, she watches him in otherwise silence. Letting him set the pace for whatever he's going to share. While she may not put up with much crap, she's not a social monster. Some things have to take time... if only for dramatic effect. So says her brother, anyways.
James Barnes	"Currently there are six men at the Avenger's Mansion. All of them restrained, all of them apparently the victims of some sort of genetic experiment," is where Bucky begins. No dramatic pause or even acknowledgment of 'this must be important. He's just straight to it. "One of these men is the grandson of someone that..." here he hesitates briefly. "...was kind to me, took me in back in '67 when I was running." From HYDRA. "I didn't know exactly where I was running or why in the beginning, but Isiah Forester took me home to his family, fed me when they barely had enough to feed themselves. I stayed with them for three months, working the mines in Blackstone Hollow before HYDRA caught up to me." He may not be entirely done with it all yet, but he does pause again - this time to give Shuri at least a chance for an edgewise word.
Shuri	There's not much for Shuri to speak on, so instead of doing so, she nods. Acknowledging the circumstance, at least of the men being held captive at the Avenger's Mansion. Though the latter portion gives her something to consider. Squinting, she absently tugs at her slacks over her knee. "What kind of genetic experiment? I have very limited experience with it, but..." She's uncertain how she could help, if that's the case. Smart as she is, her preference is robotics and engineering over genetics. Wakanda, as he well knows, aren't big into that field of science... for a variety of reasons. "Is your friend okay?"
James Barnes	"Isiah passed away a few weeks ago. His heart gave out when he found out that his grandson was one of the missing. It was only a few weeks before when he found out his son was missing from the mines as well." The further explanation has Bucky's tone and his expression becoming more and more flat by the second. Which translates to it being an emotional topic for him - he's just trying to shove those emotions into a bottle and seal them away. "Someone is trying to turn them into hybrids, bat and man." Not Batman! "A few of the missing from Blackstone got away from us when we went out to look into it. What I need from you is to see if you can whip up something that can track someone with the same mixed up genetic markers as those men, so we can maybe figure out where they've gone. Maybe that will lead us to who's doing this."
Shuri	Shuri's expression darkens hearing this bit of news, but rather than over platitudes that would only exaserbate his emotional situation, she simply nods. Brown eyes cast down, absently reaching out to run her hand along Lili's snout, back towards her ears. Letting the pooch rest her head upon her leg while Bucky continues. Until it gets to the crux of what he needs from her. This she can sink her teeth into. "I will need a few things, but they should not be very difficult to get. Samples of of blood, or something with genetic material. If I could do a biometric scan of the captive people, that would be a great deal better, but I am fairly well certain I could put something together that would easily track specific genetic markers." Hell, she probably has something that would only require slight recallibration in her lab back in Wakanda. Her expression goes distant, motions of her petting absent and robotic, doing the mental math and calculations... until she nods, "It should not be very difficult at all."
James Barnes	That's what makes Shuri different from the rest. No, 'OMG, I'm so sorry, Buck' or Steve's optimistic favorites - 'It'll all work out, Buck. We'll figure it out. Good guys always win!' She sees through him, doesn't try to open him up more and just gets down to offering what help she can. "I can arrange for all of that." Access to the victims shouldn't be a problem, not with Steve being one of the ones insistent upon taking them to the Mansion. Steve - always the optimist and always Bucky Barnes' 'til the end of the line'. It's personal to Bucky, so it's personal to Steve as well. "Morrigan is trying to work on a way to save them, but if they can't be saved, I at least need to get the bastards that did this. If we manage to find the place where it's all happening, maybe information there will be what we need to help them."
Shuri	Shuri is, at her core, a pragmatist. Platitudes have never brought the dead back to life and aside from offering meager, transiant, comfort, does nothing to make the pain of loss go away. She's suffered loss... and she can help. Just in her own way, because a kind, useless, word goes a shorter distance than facilitating retribution for what was taken. So she nods. "I will return to Wakanda tonight and bring the necessary components to the mansion. I doubt Tony would mind if I used his machine shop, if it is for this purpose." Not that she intends to ask permission, but even if, by chance, he does mind... there's a lab at the Embassey! "We will find them." That's not platitude, that's just a fact. "And stop them." And that's a spoiler.
James Barnes	"Thanks, kiddo," Bucky replies. He finally remembers he's holding her glass of water and sets it on the table - on a coaster no less. The personal nature of all of this would definitely not be lost on her. Not only does he know the victims personally, but it involved /experiments/ on unwilling subjects. It's a thing that hits home with him, not just 'too close to home' but /home/. "You want to come with us when we find the place?" he asks quietly - it's almost tentatively, not because he doesn't think Shuri can handle herself, but because he knows the invitation will rub a certain King the wrong way. "If you do, just promise me that you'll remember your own limits and put me between you and whatever it is you think might surpass those limits."
Shuri	"na-na-na..." Shuri makes a sound, flicking her tongue off the roof of her mouth, and waves her hand in a flampant dismissal of his spoken appreciation, "You do not thank me for this. This is what friends do." Because they are friends. Her smile returns, small though it might be, and she reaches out to take the water. Admiring his domestication by way of coaster. "You really are getting old." Lighten the mood. If only temporarily. Because after taking a sip, she nods to his question, and returns the glass to where she'd picked it up. "Of course I will come with you. I can only imagine you will want as few people there as possible, so Steve.. and I would not trust either of you dinosaurs with a toaster, let alone one of my devices." She teases, but she does so in a way that indicates she's constructing an excuse for why she /has/ to come. Even though it's fairly clear that she wants to. And isn't scared of her brother's retribution. "I am well aware of my limitations, Sergeant Barnes." She uses his rank and last name, almost exclusively, when she thinks he's babying her. The scowl on her face certainly hints to it. It subsides and she nods. "It is settled."
James Barnes	Bucky's eyebrow raises, just one, the left one. "Are you?" Because he's not always convinced that she is well aware. It's something the two of them - complete opposites in most ways - have in common. "Anyway, yes, I guess it's settled. Just don't tell T'Challa?" The please is unspoken but there in his tone. Is he actually afraid of the man? Perhaps not, but there's definitely a healthy amount of caution. He stands after a minute or two and says, "Well, chop chop girl, get to it." It's so obvious that he's teasing. His blue eyes never twinkle - but they are now. "Really though, I need to make a run to Westchester, check in at the Triskelion, see what's what there and if maybe they have someone that can help with the medical end of this mess."
Shuri	"Yes." Shuri is keenly aware that she is stuborn and has little regard for her own personal limitations, but it's unlikely to change.. habits being what habits are. She meets his twinkling stare with a grin and pushes up from the couch after giving Lili a affectionate pat on the flank. "Do not rush me." She playfully protests, but understands things need to move very quickly. Given the nature of what these individuals are up to, it behoves them to find where they are as quickly as possible. She stands firm, feet planted, arms across her chest... then she nods, "Okay, ''now'' I am ready." Because she's stuborn. "You still have the komoyo beads I gave you? They are an easy way for us to keep in contact while I am away. Instant communication, far more secure than cellphones or-" quote fingers, "-hand written letters." Another bemused grin, as she makes her way towards the door. Where the Doji Milaje waits dutifully to return them to the embassey. "I should have something for you in the next couple of days."
James Barnes	Does he have them? He takes them everywhere he goes. And the stupid fool still has no clue about the 'additions' added without his permission. Even now, in the relative safety of his own home, he has them in one of his pockets. Bucky takes them out and holds them up. "Of course I do." Not because of what they are, but because of who they represent - because of who gave them to him. Bucky doesn't have many material possessions that are important to him - things he couldn't just give up if he had to run suddenly. The few things he does have, like those beads, are always on his person or within arm's reach. Lili gets to her feet. A soft sound, almost a whimper, but not quite is offered before she's padding toward the door. It's never fun with scratchers and treat givers leave. Plus her human /really/ seems to like this human and that makes Shuri 'pack'. "When all this is over, you and me and Coney Island for the day," he promises in lieu of goodbye.
Shuri	Shuri nods approvingly when the beads are pulled from his pocket, "Good." One day she will probably tell him about the addition, breach of trust as it might seem on the surface, but her intentions are pure enough. She offers a wan smile as she steps back out onto the porch where her security snaps her heels together and begins to lead them down the steps towards the black car that's likely one of the most secure vehicles in the state.. "It has been a very long time since I have had a 'coney dog'." it's an agreement, smiling back to Bucky and Lili both. There's precious little in the way of traditional goodbyes, but she does wave before slipping into the back seat of the ride. holoprojection rising from her gauntlet so that she can begin calculations remotely back in her lab. Better to get a jump on things, no wasted time. Effiency is her middle name.