To Be A Mutant

[Seiji Lockard]

Was there no such thing as peace in this world? To think it had been a few months since that bad events of SPECTRE had happened and now there was a fire. Words of it all were the mutants were the cause of it at that. Was being a mutant so bad that not only did non-mutants want them dead, but so did mutants as well? Seiji didn't really know all of the details on the matter; he was just going off of what the whispers of his snakes were telling him. They were always going around collecting information and telling him things.

He would not have been surprised with how much gossip they came to him with if they didn't have a job working for DL. Seiji focused on his work for the moment, or at least he was trying to while he looked at a stack of books he had that were sitting out drying. He had managed to pick them up from the library during the whole fire out break but they had gotten wet do to sprinklers. The whole event didn't happen all that long ago and it just made him feel tired for a moment. What was the point trying to make things better for mutants if the world around them clearly wanted them dead? Perhaps they were abomination.

That sound of his snake Sapphire hissing caused Seiji to look up from the drying books on his desk and to the snake curled up on his desk. His snake might not have been able to make facial expression but it practically felt like she was glaring at him. "I'm sorry Sapphire. You are right; those thoughts have no place in my mind." Seiji said as he reached out to careful stroke the snake on the head. There was a knock at his office door that had him looking over. "Come in." Seiji said, not sure who it was, but his snake was already collecting information.

[Xiao Mei Ying]

Xiao heard a voice that spoke for her to enter the office, and so she did. As she entered the room, she glanced around wearily. The first thing her eyes fell upon, was a snake. Xiao eyed it before turning to face Seiji. She immediately fell into a deep bow, her hands places on her knees as she did. It was custom where she came from to bow when meeting, especially if it was someone of high status or someone who was a stranger. Standing back up, she inhaled before speaking. She was nervous, she was here after all to inquire about the side effects of her powers.

"Um..." Xiao cleared her throat slightly before continuing, "Excuse me, I'm here to inquire about managing the side effects of my powers." she swallowed hard, her nerves were getting the best of her. She was never good at this sort of thing. Asking for help, not exactly what Xiao liked, or thought to call a strong suit. However, she managed to muster up whatever courage she possessed, and had arrived at Seiji's office to ask for assistance.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji gave a friendly smile to the girl who walked into the room, having forgotten to tell Sapphire to hide away. It was a bit too late now as Seiji saw the girl look at Sapphire before looking over in his direction. He opened his mouth to greet her but was surprised by her formal greeting to him, one that he didn't know himself. He was born in Japan, but was adopted as a baby in the states and other then his first and middle name he was basically one hundred percent America in behavior and manners. Well...rich kid who was raised to be proper and the like manners, but still 'American' manners all the same.

She was then speaking, in a very polite and proper tone which had him smiling all the more. Sapphire would have rolled her eyes if she was capable, but she just didn't like people in general and she didn't fully buy the nice little girl act. "Well I am Seiji Lockard. One of the Side-Effect Specialist. What can I do for you?" Seiji introduced himself as he rose to his feet. He then moved towards the girl, extended a hand out to her to shake as his form of greeting. "Might I have your name?" Seiji asked after a small pause there. It was easy to look someone up when you had their name and not just their face after all.

"Oh, do please have a seat." Seiji said, almost forgetting the most important part about someone coming into his office. He wanted them to be comfortable and feel that it was okay to ask him questions and seek his help. He gestured towards one of the chairs that were in front of his desk for her to have a seat.

[Xiao Mei Ying]

Xiao returned the smile to Seiji, feeling less awkward than she had previously. The warm greeting made it easier to approach the man. Bowing her head, again Xiao quietly made her way over to the a chair in front of where Seiji sat. She extended her hand out towards his to shake it, bowing her head yet again, the smile on her face widening as she did. She felt welcome in the his office all the same, though she could feel her nerves returning yet again however.

"I'm Xiao Mei Ying." she spoke lightly, bowing her head, only slightly this time. Smiling again, she shifted slightly in her seat. "It's very nice to meet you." Xiao laughed half nervously, and half brightly. It was like a bad mix between the nerves you got when singing in front of large group of people, as well as the excitement. "I was told that you may be able to help me with my side effects." she explained, rather gingerly, fiddling with the hems of her skirt as she spoke. "They can from time to time, get rather unbearable. Especially the severe headaches I get." Xaio continued, smiling nervously at Seiji, determined to keep her shyness slightly in check, especially since she was talking to someone who would be capable of helping her in her current predicament. 

Xiao bowed her head once more to Seiji, this time more in an apologetic fashion more than anything. "I'm sorry to be bothering you like this, sir." She had almost forgotten the more she talked, the more her accent became apparent. Her accent didn't really help her sometimes shy nature, as sometimes Xiao's accent made it hard for others to understand her.

[Seiji Lockard]

She was doing a lot of bowing, but he was not going to say anything directly about it. If she wanted to be that polite and formal with him, that was alright. He just wanted her to feel comfortable and relaxed when in his presence. She did seemed to be feeling a little better, but he could still see that she was nervous. She gave her name, with yet another bow, a smaller on this time so perhaps she was starting to calm down a little more. She seemed pleased to meet him and things were starting to move along to why she was here. “It’s nice to meet you too, Xioa; if you would like me to call you that.” Seiji said, not sure if she wanted to be called by her last name or any kind of nickname.

Normally student gave him the name they wanted to be called by, but she gave him all of her name. So he was not sure what to call her, but at least he was able to quickly pull her up on the database. It only took a few clicks, some typing, and soon he was seeing her name and a little bit on her power that the school had recorded among some other information that he had access to. “You came to the right person. It’s my job to help out my fellow mutants with dealing with their side effect. As for the headache ones, those typically are the easiest to treat out of the side effects.” Seiji informed her as he already started to read up her power.

Headache side-effects were as simple as just getting some of her DNA sample and to make medication for the headaches. It would not completely get rid of them forever, but it would make them bearable and happen less often, depending on how much she used her power. He didn’t mind the accent and he didn’t feel at all bothered. “You are not bothering me at all. This is my job after all and I have my set hours to be in here.” Seiji pointed out. He was going to be here for a few more hours before he had a class to deal with. “Can you tell me a little bit about your power?” Seiji this asked, already reading up on it but he wanted to hear her understanding of it.

[Xiao Mei Ying]

Xiao nodded her head slightly, smiling at Seiji. She liked that he seemed approachable, which in turn helped her nerves out a lot. She was starting to calm down, and found her shyness slowly going away. Now, she just had to explain her powers to Seiji. With a smile across her lips, she bowed her head slightly again before speaking to him.

"I prefer Xia." she said, rather brightly in fact, smiling a bit more. Xiao straightened up in her chair, making ready to explain her powers to Seiji. Explaining her powers were easy enough, however, it was also difficult. The nature of how she controls her power is one of oddities of her nature. When she was young she nor her parents imagined that she would be a mutant. It was a shock for her family, as well as herself. "I can manipulate the air and wind." Xiao started, wondering in her mind if she would be able to demonstrate with a small vortex of wind. "I control it with the ancient art of Tai Chi." Xiao held one arm out in front of her, palm pointed forwards towards Seiji, the other arm out to the side, hand bent inward towards herself. "This is one of the many positions I use. Many are just a variety of these two simply movements." she gave a nod of her head, returning her hands to her lap.

"The movements I use constantly put strain on my bones because I have to hold them precisely for long amounts of time. My power comes more from my concentration than my movements. I think...this is why I have headaches." she continued, looking down slightly at her hands, before returning her gaze to Seiji. It seemed weird to explain her powers to someone. The last time she remembered doing that was at her old school in Japan. Though they didn't have a side effects specialist there, so she did feel very grateful to Seiji being here at Bellefonte. "I also have bouts of severe anxiety. As well as asthma." She hoped that this was enough information for Seiji to be able to help her out. Her headaches and anxiety were the more severe of her problems, and it would be nice to write her mother back home to tell that she found someone to help her. With a smile, she bowed her head to Seiji. "Thank you in advance for your time."

[Seiji Lockard]

“Alright then, Xia it is.” Seiji said, making a mental note as well as a note on his computer so he would remember completely. He didn’t want to call her something that she didn’t like and if she preferred Xia, then that was what he was going to call her. He leaned back in his chair a little, his eyes looking at his computer as she started to explain her powers. His eyes did flash a snake like yellow for a moment as he looked through Sapphire’s eyes for a moment. His poisonous snake was staring at the girl for a moment and he just wanted to make sure she was not looking at the girl with the intent to hurt or anything.

Sapphire of course was not; she was just looking at the girl, but remained right where she was on Seiji’s desk. She didn’t really like people but she was comfortable where she was and didn’t care if someone was made uncomfortable by her or not. He gave a few nods to show he was listening to her as he read up on what was listed down on her power. It was an interesting way she found to control her wind power but he had heard that many of those with elemental based powers found it easiest to control their power with various form of movements. What better movement style then one that had just a natural flow to it?

He did stop looking at his computer when she gave him a demonstration of what she could do with her power. He typed up some quick notes on it and then types up some more as she pointed out what she already knew of what pains she had to deal with because of her power. He could not really help strain on her bones, that was something she would have to put in some training into and just build up a small level of tolerance to it. He could help the headaches, anxiety would be iffy to treat; again something she would need to work on her own, and asthma could also be helped. He made notes of everything she said, nodding every now and again to show he was still in fact paying attention.

“Thank you for coming to me for help. I know for sure I could work up some medication for you to take for your headaches and asthma. The medication for asthma will take longer than the medication for your head….and while I could make medication to help with your anxiety, that will take a long time as well and I would suggest relaxation techniques and pointing out the anxiety attacks to your trainer in the meantime.” Seiji said as he types up a few more things before standing up to go over to one of his special cabinets. “Do you mind if I perform a quick check up on you and get some samples?” Seiji asked, pausing before he went any further. He had forgotten to ask first, for a moment there.

[Xiao Mei Ying]

Xiao listened carefully to Seiji as he spoke. She had been focusing so much so on their discussion that she had almost forgotten that there was a snake staring at her. She wasn't big on snakes, however she had to admit the snake was beautiful. After admiring the snake for a few moments, she refocused herself upon Seiji. She listened, feeling slightly down that there wasn't more that could be done about her anxiety. Right now the only thing she had to combat it was her meditation, however even she knew that had it's limits. Perhaps Seiji would have some ideas about what could be done to help more besides meditation.

"I understand." she replied with a simple nod of her head. "I have a question before we do my exam." Xiao said, frowning slightly. "Right now, the only way I have to deal with my anxiety, is meditation. Are there anything other techniques you could recommend for when I talk to my trainer?" Xiao asked, frowning a bit more. "Also, would where would you like me to stand for the examination?" she added lightly, folding her hands in her lap.

[Seiji Lockard]

Sapphire was a female Cottonmouth Viper, that was roughly two foot long. Not that it was all that easy to tell with how tightly she had her body curled up. It was still winter outside and while Seiji kept the room at a decent temperature, it was mainly on the cold side as to not mess up with any of his experiments and test. The lab was especially cold, but his office was at least cozy enough, even move so under the desk lamp Sapphire had choose to stay warm underneath.

Seiji did have a lot of ideas of what could help her past medication was just something that was a little bit easier to hand out to treat at least some things that were harder to manage without it. She seemed to understand and that was good enough for Seiji. If she had any questions all she had to do was ask and he would answer them to the best of his ability. He started to pull out what he needed to just perform a simple examination. He needed blood, a hair sample, and checking her breathing and her heart rate would be an added bounces he could toss in there.

She had a question then, about her anxiety and if there was anything she could do with it besides take medication. "Well I would inform your trainer about having the anxiety problem first. Then perhaps suggest to them; if they don’t themselves, that you practice meditation. Deep breathing and relaxation." Seiji suggested. There was the whole test all of the things that made her anxiety act up, but that would be something he figured a trainer would already know to test out later on. There was another question then, asked as Seiji was putting on gloves. "You are fine right where you are. Just remained seated and relaxed. If you have any questions, feel free to ask." Seiji said as he moved over towards her.

He had a stethoscope, already moving to place it flat on her arm if she allowed him to take it. "Oh, and don't mind Sapphire." Seiji brought up since he could see his snake sitting there and still watching out of the corner of his eye.

[Xiao Mei Ying]

Xiao glanced back to the snake, staring it her for a moment longer, before returning her attention to Seiji. She was feeling quite comfortable now, her nervousness had all but gone away now. Xiao listened closely as Seiji answered her questions.　She felt much better about the visit, not at all regretting she had come to see him. At least she would be able to write home to her mother to tell her that she had made some sort of actual progress towards managing the side effects that came with her powers. It was some stress that would be taken off of her chest, lessening at least some of her anxiety problems.

Xiao carefully watched as Seiji went to place the stethoscope onto her arm. She was quite calm, as she was used to being examined. Back home, she would go every few months to get a general wellness checkup. Though this was mostly so her mum would not bug her about if she was lazy about getting checkups, then something would happen to her, then she would regret it. Her mum also would tell this to not only her, but her brother and sister as well. Frowning slightly, Xiao realized she missed her siblings more than she thought she would. After a moment, she focused back in on reality, her eyes glancing back over to Sapphire again. "Sapphire is very beautiful." Xiao finally said, smiling a little at Seiji.

[Seiji Lockard]

He was pleased that Xia was staying nice and still and calm for him, it made his work a lot easier to get done. He understood that a lot of people were not really fans of doctors or test, but he was not a doctor and the test were meant to help them. Either way, he tried to make the progress quick so they would be able to get back to their lives and rest assured that something would be made for them to help with at least some of their side effects. "Everything sounds pretty good." Seiji informed her, knowing that some people liked to know what was going on with their body instead of a doctor being silent.

After her was done with that he moved to write a few things down and then got an alcohol wipe and wiped down the area in where he was going to draw some blood from. Blood was practically one of the easiest ways to learn a whole lot about someone and also for test when using the medication. He caught the frown and thought it was because of the needle that he was about to poke into her flesh, into her vein, and basically steal some of her blood. Granted it was not really stealing since she had gave him the okay but now he was hesitating. "Do you not like needles?" Seiji asked.

There was not much he could do to get rid of that fear, but he could at least get her something to distract herself with while he did what he had to do. Xia then spoke up about Sapphire, the snake moving a little to look at the girl who had said the words. "Oh, you think so? You hear that Sapphire, she thinks you are pretty." Seiji said, repeating back the words to his snake even if he knew she had heard them. It was not often people complemented her on her beauty. Seiji chuckled a little at the response he got back from his reptile. "She said thanks." Seiji said, only saying the good bit about what his snake said.

[Xiao Mei Ying]

She was happy to hear that her body was still in working order. Though she didn't think that he would have found something wrong with her, she still appreciated that he spoke to her, letting her know that she was in good working order. Her doctor in her home country was notorious for staying silent. Then only telling her parents about the results. It more than pissed her off to say the least. Xiao thought that the least they could do was let her know. After all it was her that was living in her body, not her parents. It seemed only fair to tell her what the heck was happening too.

Xiao blinked for a moment, only just now registering that Seiji had asked her a question. She looked up at him. He seemed to have noticed her frowning. She shook her head at Seiji, smiling at him. "I don't mind needles really, though if I'm repeatedly poked with them, I do get annoyed with them." Xiao laughed a bit, covering her mouth for a moment. "I was thinking of home is all. I was just thinking of my brother and sister. I didn't realize I'd miss them this much." she laughed again, waving her hand slightly in front of her. She thought that it'd be like every other time she was away from her siblings. Though she felt that this time was different, because she was farther away from home this time. In fact she was on the other side of the world now, not in Japan. She was still getting used to this new place, thought she was getting there. It was taking time though.

"I've never seen a snake up close before." she said suddenly, looking back at Sapphire. Xiao stared at the snake for a few moments before turning back to look at Seiji. "I'm not much of a snake person." she stated, laughing lightly. "Though, I have a deep respect for them."

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji felt a little better when she said that she was not afraid of needles or anything. That was good; it made it easier to go back to the task at hand. He didn't hesitate now as he went to draw enough blood from the young girl in order to run some test on it. "I don't think anyone would be okay with being poked with needles repeatedly." Seiji said with a small chuckle as he tossed the needle away and wiped where he had drawn blood.

He then went to get a colorful bandage to wrap around the spot, figuring she would like a colored one over a plain one. It made it a bit more decorative after giving up some of your blood. Seiji was about to ask what color she wanted but he words about missing her family had him falling silent for a moment. He missed his family too, but had done well to not really think about them. He didn't know his family by blood and the ones that were his parents and siblings had basically disowned him when he came into his powers. "Do you have any way to keep in touch with them?" Seiji asked as she walked over with the few colors of bandages he had. Pink, green, yellow, and black were her in her selection and he sort of just held them out in front of her to pick.

Xiao then brought up the fact that she had never really seen a snake up close. He figured not that many people did, especially those who had a fear of them. Seiji hoped for a lot of people’s sake they did not see the particular breed of snake that Sapphire was. She was venomous after all and being bit by a poisonous snake was just not a fun time. "A deep respect for them? Why is that?" Seiji asked, a little bit confused. He could guess but he just wanted to be sure by getting an answer from her. "When I'm all done here, you can hold her if you like." Seiji offered up. This of course had Sapphire turning her head to stare at her master.

[Xiao Mei Ying]

Xiao frowned slightly. She could write to them, which she did. Though sometimes it would be nice to hear their voices. However calling from Bellefonte was a pretty penny for her parents, so she tried to stick to writing for the most part. Perhaps she could get her parents to apply for vacation time, that way they could come see her soon. After all, she loved them very much. "We write to each other mainly. Though that takes ages." she said with a small laugh, pointing to the green bandage. "Though I wish it didn't cost so much for them to come here, or to call them. My family is tight on money, so it's not an option. It would be nice though." Xiao smiled at Seiji, before peering back over at Sapphire, who seemed to by this point, be staring into her soul, figuratively speaking of course.

"Snakes, no matter how big or small, are powerful creatures. They deserve and command the respect of many creatures of the earth. Including us, though we are bigger than most snakes, they can fell us if given the proper chance." she said rather definitely. Sometimes she wondered how much she sounded like one of the monks or priests at the Shrines in her home town. After all, she was raised to respect the earth and all that inhabits it. Perhaps it was this that made her sound like the priestess who would preform the ancient chants and dances. Xiao however froze slightly in her seat, staring at Seiji with a face that both looked thrilled, as well as terrified beyond all measure. "Is it really safe for me to hold her?" she asked nervously. "After all I don't know what kind of snake she is. How can I guarantee she won't bite me?" Xiao let out a weak and nervous filled laugh.

[Seiji Lockard]

“If you talk to someone at the school, I’m pretty sure they could help out with other methods of communicating with your family. Like perhaps a skype call.” Seiji suggested. He knew there was a lot out there that made communicating with people a lot easier. The school did have computers for the student to use if they didn’t have their person one. He didn’t think the school would have an issue with a student using it to contact their family instead of for school. So long as the student was not going against an intended plan of the family not knowing where they were.

When she pointed to the green one he gave her a pleased smile and went to lightly wrap where he had drawn blood. Now he just had to remember where he kept lollypops to give her one for being a good sport, if she wanted one. “If you provide me with a permission sheet, stating that you are allowed to go home I could perhaps provide a way for you to see your family over a break.” Seiji offered. He had money, he could afford it but he was not going to pay for a student to go off the school grounds if they were not okayed for it. Seiji smiled at Xiao’s words on snakes. It pleased him to know that someone else had an understanding and respect of snakes.

Sapphire was pleased by it to, but not like she was really telling Seiji that. The snake didn’t have to when Seiji could read her mind and the stray thoughts. He finished up what he was doing with drawing blood and cleaned up and put things in their proper place without any problem. He chuckled a little as he nodded his head as his first response to Xiao’s question. “It is one hundred percent safe. Yes, she is a Cottonmouth Viper and they are extremely poisonous but she is a snake I have a bond with. I already told her not to bite you so she won’t.” Seiji said, already moving over to Sapphire and picking her up. Sapphire let out a small hiss but one look from Seiji and she stopped with the whole ‘evil snake’ act.

“You don’t have to hold her if you don’t want to, but if you would like I can promise you that you will not be bit, even if you drop her.” Seiji assured her, already holding Sapphire out for Xiao to take. Sapphire didn’t look at the girl, just remaining still in a relaxed manner. “If it makes you feel even better, I also have the anti-venom.” Seiji added after a moment. He used to work with only snake venom for the longest time so it should have been expected he had the anti-venom on a lot of local and not local snakes.