Derrick Visits

[hazlogs]

It is currently 15:23 Pacific Time on Sun Nov 23 1997.
Currently on this gusty and cold fall midafternoon in the general St. Claire 
  area, it is 44 degrees Fahrenheit (6.7 degrees Celsius). The wind is coming 
  from the west at 10.3 mph. The ground is wet. Skies are clear with a 
  possible chance of precipitation.
Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (42% full).

Behind the Falls
Dug by a combination of the wearing down of stone by time and erosion, and the 
  shifting of rock from the water's weight, this cave behind the falls is 
  comfortably roomy. A gentle downward slope leads back from the entrance, 
  perhaps ten or so yards; the cave is about five yards across at its widest, 
  and small juts of rock have created natural shelves and nooks in the walls. 
  Very little light pierces the dark recesses of the cave, hidden as it is by 
  the twists of stone and the flow of water, but one of the nooks along the 
  cave floor has been cleared out and, by its blackened and sooty appearance, 
  used as a fire pit.

Brightspot climbs into the cave from the stone niche outside.
Brightspot has arrived.

Erik's Desc:
The figure - presumably male - reaches a height of over seven feet when 
  standing, freakishly tall, with hard, ropy muscles encased in taut, 
  corpselike pale flesh. A few short whisps of dull black hair cling to a 
  lonely existance on the bald, bare head. The face is a horror, brutish and 
  skeletal, with corpselike pallid grayish skin stretched drum-tight over 
  too-obvious bone, the jaw out-thrust and the cheeks sunken. Both eyes - 
  misaligned and sunk into deep sockets - are a startling shade of green, but 
  the gaze is flat and unemotional, and a number of regular scars surround the 
  left. Pointed ears and sharp canines are characteristic Glabro features, but 
  instead of a nose, he has only a pair of gaping holes which only emphasize 
  the skull-like appearance.
He moves little, his form tied securely and wrapped in a thick blanket. The 
  right arm has been removed at the elbow, and there's a large patch of scar 
  tissue on the left forearm. The voice, when he does speak, is flat and 
  expressionless, an emotionless baritone with no lilt to it, no music. None 
  at all. 

Erik remains quiet near the low-embered remains of last night's fire, his eyes 
  closed.

Brightspot trots in along the trail behind the falls, her ears forward 
  hopfully but her lowered tail tempering the emotion. She stops as she sees 
  the changes in Erik, and hope seems to spring forth stronger as she 
  approaches him.

Erik opens his eyes as the sound of wolf claws on rock comes near, and his 
  eyes fix upon the cub, the same passionless, emotionless eyes that have 
  greeted her since the Metis' rescue.

Despite the same flatness of his eyes, the cub's tail starts to wag slowly as 
  she clings to 'proof' that the lack of hardware must mean he's better. She 
  moves towards his head, then lowers her own to sniff at his cheek as she 
  greets him quietly.

Erik follows the cub with his eyes, silently; not a flicker of expression 
  passes across the skeletal face as he observes her.

Ravenfeeder dozes lightly in lupus. She opens one eye with Brightspot's 
  arrival, studying her with warning, then lets it fall shut again, returning 
  to her doze.

~Erik?~ she asks softly, ~You're better now?~ No matter how hard she tries, 
  that still comes out sounding like a question.

Erik replies in a flat tone of voice. "Clarify."

Brightspot sinks, well, more like drops to the floor. You're not, she says as 
  she lowers her head down between her paws.

Erik says, "This unit functions."

~Functions,~ she repeats, almost as flatly as him. She shifts her head to let 
  it rest upon his blanketed chest. But they got all that stuff off you, 
  that's good.

Erik stirs slightly under the blankets, pulling at his bonds for a brief 
  moment. He gazes at Brightspot. "Release me."

Brightspot's ears come forward. She doesn't glance towards Megan to see if 
  she's opened her eyes, but the cub seems fully aware she's still there. I 
  can't. She's slower to add, Besides...

Erik watches the cub silently.

Brightspot turns her eyes from his. You're not you. I can't.

The Metis continues to watch the young Homid for several moments, waiting - 
  perhaps - to see if she has anything further to say, or questions to ask as 
  the others have done.

Brightspot fidgets under his attention, misinterpting it. I can't, she 
  repeats. We have to make you better first.

Erik asks, "Do you wish to reverse the Process?"

Brightspot's head shoots up and she barks an affirmative.

"It is not possible."

The cub droops as slowly as she had raised her head fast. It's not?

"There is no knowledge. It is not possible."

Brightspot's head returns to his chest. There has to be, she seems to be 
  telling herself more than him. How did they make you like this?

Erik gives the information in flat tones. "Redundant parts are removed in 
  favor of essential ones. The connection to the one called ~Gaia~ is severed, 
  as is the shapeshifting ability. Then the unit is brought into service."

~You said that before. But how was the connection cut off, and how do they 
  keep you from shifting?~ Once more her eyes have returned to his.

"Those who Process the unit surgically alter the cerebrum and 
  introduce foreign material to the body."

Brightspot's ears draw back at that. Who are 'they'?

"Other units."

Brightspot seems at a loss. A whine starts up in her throat before she glances 
  over at Megan and bites it back. There has to be a way to fix you.

Erik repeats his earlier statement. "It is not possible."

Brightspot closes her eyes, her head still resting on his thin chest. When she 
  opens them again a few moments later, she says, No. You said you didn't know 
  how to do it, right?

Erik, like a computer, can be infuriatingly stubborn. "There is no knowledge."

Again, almost to herself the cub says, But that doesn't mean it /can't/ be 
  done. The ones who did this to you, they were like you? Or different?

Erik says, "Units are not identical."

Brightspot's ears start to edge forward. So maybe the one who made you like 
  this could fix you, too?

Erik stares back at the cub. "Negative. There is no knowledge."

Brightspot looks past him as she thinks aloud. Not really a 'no', just no 
  because you don't know.

Erik remains silent this time rather than repeat his earlier statement.

Brightspot changes tactics suddenly. Do you remember stuff from before they 
  did this?

"Affirmative."

That draws a deep, saddened sigh from the cub. Do you miss it?

"Irrelevant."

Brightspot meets his eyes. It isn't.

Falcon's Wing climbs into the cave from the stone niche outside.
Falcon's Wing has arrived.

Erik gazes back at Brightspot with his newfound, blandly steady, mechanical 
  stare.

Falcon's Wing slips in quietly, whurfing a greeting slightly warily.

Erik's eyes shift in the deep sockets, his head turning slightly to note the 
  Fang's arrival.

Brightspot is laying next to Erik, her head on his blanket covered chest. She 
  lifts her head and looks back as she hears Falcon's Wing arrive. Almost 
  tiredly, she chuff a greeting in return.

[Falcon's Wing]
A relatively thinnish wolf, he looks at the world curiously through brown 
  eyes. On first glance, he's very white, but on closer inspection, there 
  turns out to be almost as much brown fur as white. On his stomach and left 
  shoulder, patches of fur have grown in differently than the rest of it.

[Brightspot]
A blackish-gray splash of fur moves across the lighter gray pelt of this young 
  wolf. From her muzzle it flows over the top of her head to the back of her 
  neck where the shadowy-grayish blackness divides to slip down both of her 
  longish forelegs before continuing across her back to her hindlegs and tail, 
  ending in a pool at the very tip. Though covered in a thick pelt of fur, 
  Brightspot seems lean, lanky, like she's been spending a while eating none 
  too much. Her eyes also reflect her body's change. Behind her mask of darker 
  fur, they have grown more distant, and a little harder, though there's still 
  enough of the old cub left to make her appear ready to shy away at a 
  moment's notice.

Falcon's Wing guesses he's not himself yet.

Brightspot lowers her head back down to Erik's thin chest. He isn't, but we're 
  going to fix him.

Falcon's Wing never said we weren't. Has anyone tried Mother's Touch on him?

Erik remains silent, observing the two other Garou, a nearly-motionless figure 
  underneath the blanket.

Brightspot's ears lower apologetically. I don't know.

Ravenfeeder continues to doze in the corner of the cave. One eye opened to 
  observe Falcon's Wing's arrival, with the same warning look she gave Kasie, 
  but then it slides shut once more.

Brightspot asks Derrick, Do you know it?

Falcon's Wing does not. I'm pretty sure Thatcher does, though.

Erik's eyes shift back toward Brightspot.

Brightspot's attention goes back to Erik. You didn't answer my question. You 
  remember, do you miss it?

Erik says, "Negative."

Falcon's Wing asks why?

Erik's eyes shift toward Falcon's Wing. "Clarify."

Brightspot's ears sink at the metis' answer. She falls silent, letting Derrick 
  ask questions.

Falcon's Wing means, why don't you miss it.
Falcon's Wing asks only in the spirit of scientific inquiry.

After a long moment, the Metis only replies, "Irrelevant."

Falcon's Wing doesn't think it is. Why is it irrelevant?

Brightspot growls softly. Wasn't irrelevant. She starts to rise to her paws, 
  looking down into Erik's eyes. It wasn't irrelevant.

Erik is silent for another moment, attempting to formulate a reply to such 
  questions. In the end, though, he has no answer.

Brightspot remains standing over the metis. Tell me what you remember.

Erik says, "All information is intact."

Brightspot repeats, the growl not totally quited in her throat. Tell me.

Erik counters with, "Specify."

Brightspot remains looming over him in what might otherwise be a threatening 
  pose, if one didn't know her better. What do you remember most?

Erik answers after a brief pause of shifting through memories, sorting by 
  intensity. "Angela," he says at last. And, "Brandenburg. Concerto number 
  five. D major. First movement."

And this, the cub sweeps her muzzle towards his missing arm, Is better than 
  that?

"Irrelevant."

Falcon's Wing doesn't think it is. You have a choice in what you are, after 
  all.

Brightspot's undercurrent of growling continues. It is not. Tell me.

Erik seems utterly unaffected by threats or the hint of threats, bland in the 
  face of badgering and intimidation. He remains silent, gazing at the two 
  Garou.

Falcon's Wing gazes back. It is curiousity I ask from. Have you none, anymore?

Brightspot glances back at Derrick as if just remembering he's there. Stepping 
  over Erik, she heads for the opposite wall and flops down, facing it. She's 
  not too far from Megan.

Erik answers the Fang. "Negative."

Falcon's Wing asks why.

"That is not this unit's primary function."

Falcon's Wing's ears flicker. So, what is?

"She claims the world. We subdue so that they may bind. We protect the 
  spinners."

Ravenfeeder's ears pick up at the sound of approach, and her eye opens to a 
  mere slit to see who or what it is. She gives a quiet, meant-to-be-soothing 
  chuff to the cub, not going back to sleep immediately.

Falcon's Wing asks, Well, yes. But why?

Her cheek flat against the hard stone floor, Brightspot returns the chuff, a 
  sound in which hopelessness surpasses frustration.

Erik says, "~Weaver.~ She claims the world."

Ravenfeeder flicks an ear, and asks the obvious. You sound frustrated.

Falcon's Wing snorts. So does the Wyrm. Why do you work with her?

Erik says, "This unit was brought in and Processed."

With a turning back of her ear, Brightspot indicates Erik. There has to be a 
  way to fix him, the cub looks like she's trying to force herself to believe 
  that.

Falcon's Wing asks, Processed? How does that work?

Ravenfeeder lifts her head and yawns, running a tongue down her muzzle. She 
  gives a good look over Erik, then looks back to Brightspot. And if there is 
  not?

Erik says, "Redundant parts are removed in favor of essential ones. The 
  connection between the one called ~Gaia! is removed, as is the shapeshifting 
  ability. The cerebrum is altered by a surgical process and foreign material 
  is introduced into the body.""

Even though there's no lower she can go, Brightspot still seems to wilt. Don't 
  know.

Falcon's Wing wonders, do you know if there's a way to reverse this process?

Erik say, "There is no knowledge."

Falcon's Wing sighs. Well, it was worth a shot. Do you miss being able to 
  shift?

"It was not essential."

Falcon's Wing thinks it's useful. You're stronger that way. And such. If I'm 
  so irrelevant, why are you answering my questions?

"It is required."

Ravenfeeder's total focus is on the Fianna cub near her, or it seems to be. 
  Gently, she motions. It it something that you should consider. It may be 
  that this is like when one of us Falls, and cannot be reversed. When that 
  happens, the best thing for all is to exterminate it.

Falcon's Wing, happily, doesn't notice Megan's comment, and its implications 
  for his packmate. By who, Heart of Fury and company?

"Negative."

Falcon's Wing cocks his head. Then who?

"The collective."

Falcon's Wing blinks. Why?

"To observe."

To... Oh, says the Fang, that's what got Heart of Fury trying to eat you, the 
  other day. Is this observation helping them at all?

"Affirmative."

Falcon's Wing asks how.

"We know better what opposes us."

Brightspot's eyes are open, but she's staring at the wall ahead of her. He 
  didn't want them to do this, she tells her tribemate. He fought them, he 
  didn't just let them. The point seems important to the cub.

Ravenfeeder flicks an ear a touch angrily. And if he had fallen to the Enemy 
  such as that, would he be any less a Fallen One when he'd returned from the 
  Dark Place?

Falcon's Wing wonders. What exactly does... Or rather did, your gun do?

After a brief pause, Erik says, "That information is not available."

Falcon's Wing wonders, is any information on your weapons available?

Brightspot doesn't look like she understands the reference. After a moment she 
  indicates Derrick as she asks, He wanted to know of Mother's Touch had been 
  tried?

"Negative."

Falcon's Wing thinks that's a shame. What's your mother like?

Erik adapts to the sudden shift in topic with apparent ease. "Dead."

Ravenfeeder flicks an ear, not letting Brightspot off that easy. If he had 
  fallen to the Dark Enemy protesting, he would still return irredeemable, and 
  would need to be killed. This is something that you must start thinking on.

Falcon's Wing meant, the Weaver. You talked as if it was a parent.

Erik replies, "Fallacy," to the Silver Fang.

Brightspot makes an uneasy sound in her throat. But how do you know we can't 
  save him?

Ravenfeeder flicks an ear. That is not the point. You do not hide your head in 
  the ground and not face something just because you do not like it. I do not 
  know we cannot save him, but you must consider what to do if we cannot.

The set of Brightspot's ears as she falls silent might suggest she's doing 
  just that. After a time she turns uneasy eyes towards Megan and instead of 
  telling her what she thinks, she akss, Do you think we can save him?

Falcon's Wing's shoulder fur ripples. Well, then, what's the Weaver like?

Erik answers Derrick. "She is order. She binds."

Falcon's Wing asks, Doesn't that hurt?

"The Process negates pain."

Falcon's Wing looks speculatively at Erik. Bet you just can't remember.

"All information is accessable to this unit."

Falcon's Wing says, Yes, but you won't tell us a lot of it.

Erik says, "Some information is not available to those outside the collective."

Ravenfeeder's eyes look over to Erik and more lingeringly to her packmate, 
  before she answers Kasie. I do not know. All I know is that we will try.

Brightspot grows more resolute. We will.

Falcon's Wing wonders, What isn't available?

"That information is not available."

Falcon's Wing meant generally. Weapons stuff, obviously. Would you give us the 
  layout of your place, if we asked?

"Negative."

Falcon's Wing snorts. You're annoying.

Erik does not reply.

Then again, I bet I annoy you, says the Fang. Or the moral equivalent of 
  annoying, to a Weaver creature.

Erik still does not reply.

Falcon's Wing goes over and bumps Kasie. Should go patrol. See you later. ~And 
  see you later, Sings in Shadow - or have you changed your name?~

"This unit has been re-designated."

Falcon's Wing says, ~Ah. And what is your new designation, so I can remember 
  not to call you it?~

Ravenfeeder chuffs, with a trace of sharpness. No, *we* will. You will go find 
  Heart of Fury and perhaps Luna-Singer, and continue with your lessons. You 
  have a Rite of Passage to go through at some point.

Erik says, "Seven, X, five, three, E, G, one, V, zero, zero, three."

Brightspot returns Derrick's bump, but it's half-hearted at best.

Falcon's Wing says, firmly, ~Definitely will avoid calling you that. See you 
  around.~
Falcon's Wing slips back around the jutting cleft of rock, out towards the 
  niche, and is lost from view.
Falcon's Wing has left.

Erik lapses back into silence, his eyes closing to conserve energy.

Brightspot turns her head towards Ravenfeeder, blinking once at the tone. I 
  can learn and help, I can do both.

Ravenfeeder settles back down, manner implacable, although no longer with 
  anger.

Instead of arguing directly, Brightspot resettles her head to her paws, her 
  eyes on Erik.

Ravenfeeder noses towards the cave mouth. Go on, the Philodox says more 
  quietly. Thatcher is at the Caern. You may ask her yourself about the 
  healing gift.

Brightspot rises to her paws and after touching Erik's blanketed side lightly 
  with her nise, she looks back towards Ravenfeeder. Okay. I'll be right back, 
  she seems to say to both of them.

Brightspot slips back around the jutting cleft of rock, out towards the niche, 
  and is lost from view.
Brightspot has left.