12/11/2004
09:17 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Forest North of Kent Crossing(#3819RAJh)
A large expanse of second-growth forest grows about you. Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock are the dominant trees, with more deciduous species present closer to the west. The woods are light, with sunlight or moonlight trickling to the floor of the forest on the occasions when the skies are clear. While some large houses and the sporadic older farmstead dot the few small roads that wind their way through the wilderness, most of it has returned to the natural state. The remnants of human inhabitations past can be seen in the rectangular shaped meadows that were once farms. A few abandoned buildings and the rusted remains of farm machinery lay in some of these grassy areas.
To the west of this area, the Columbia River pushes through the land, with the city of St. Claire on the opposite bank. Interstate 90 crosses the Columbia to the north, following it north-south for a few miles on this side, but generally maintaining its east-west path. To the east is Sunrise Road; one of the more inhabited country roads in the area and to the south is the sleepy town of Kent Crossing.
Contents:
Alicia
Dr. Vissum
Rifthealer
Trevor
Hope
Obvious exits:
Into the Den East Southwest South
Pack> Rifthealer says "To note then, IC, in the past fifteen minutes Dakota's gone from cautious, to terrified, and now the tell-tale sign of Rage that can only mean battle."
There's a tiny car, or the busted remains of one, sitting in the middle of a dusty and disused asphalt road a fair ways off the I-22. One half of the little pseudo-European smart car looks like it's gone a round with a Crinos-sized can opener; said can opener now thrashes on the ground, trying to snap and tear at Rifthealer, who has her leg firmly between her jaws. The strange Garou has metal and wires twisting out of its fur like some sort of sadistic experiment, but it doesn't seem to have impinged on her fury any. Not far off there's a man in a white lab coat trying to scramble away from the two fighting Garou, while Trevor does his best to stop him, and largely succeeds. Not ten seconds ago there was a bright red light like an ambulance's, and a loud, ear splitting mechanical wail.
Rifthealer bares her teeth and snarls as fur and skin are picked off her hand and wrist by snapping teeth. She's not to be deterred and moves to plant her knees, legs, whatever down onto the frenzying crinos to use her weight to keep her down. In the meantime, she's also sending a broad fist straight and full-force for Hope's face and between the eyes of she's so lucky.
Twin hulks of fur and claw, one black with a spot of white, the other blood red with ivory underside, thrash and burst out of the woodworks closing in on the scene. Guards-Flame and Three-Blades, together on patrol, had sensed their packmate's surge of Rage, and with alarming swiftness, shifted and ran towards the scene to aid her in battle. What they didn't expect, was the ear-torturing sirens and flashing light.
Trevor struggles to get a good enough hold on Dr. Vissum, determined to administer a blow to the back of the man's head. Or several, if that's what it takes.
Hope continues to frenzy, even after she recieves a punch to the head. Clawing and biting at Rifthealer without any real control.
A good smack in the back of the head does little to deter Dr. Vissum beyond bloodying his nose against the asphalt. He struggles to push himself away from his assailant with a fury born of panic he lashes out with his legs, lying flat on his back and kicking out inexpertly, fighting the way a child does, not to damage the other but to keep him away. There's no grace or style in his efforts but there's a definite dumb determination.
Rifthealer releases Hope's leg to send another fist into her face, then another, even as blindly flailing claws and teeth find purchase here and there, and it doesn't take long for the black fur of the Theurge's arms to be slick with the blood of numerous wounds.
Growling loudly in her throat, Guards-The-Flame tears through the foliage, spittle flying from parted jaws as she aims herself towards Rifthealer's attacker. ~Three-Blades, back up the Fianna.~ She commands as she leaps forward into the fray, hoping to lash out and snag her jaws into the crinos's leg and tug her backwards away.
Three-Blades barks roughly a decent 'roger!' of lupine nature, eyes locking onto the struggle between Trevor and Vissum. Shifting down to the lupus form as she changes direction, she digs her paws in and runs over almost as any K-9 police unit would.
You have shifted to Lupus form.
Pack> Three-Blades doesn't disguise the undertone of more than just disturbing feeling at the scene, however. It is an unsettled one, that gnaws at the back of her mind despite the rush of battle.
Trevor continues his assult on Dr. Vissum, not even breaking off to acknowledge the newcomers to this fight.
[look Dr. Vissum]
Dr. Egbert Vissum is a man aged before his time, deep lines criss-cross across his face and his hair is white and sticks from his head in scattered tufts, sparse and stringy like the birds have been picking at it. He's wearing a lab-coat which is in spots a bright starchy white and in others is smeared through with dirt and blood, especially around the lower edges and the pockets, so that it looks almost as if he'd been wading through it. Where his shoes aren't caked in rust-coloured blood they shine a tidy black. All about him there's a look of raw, nervous energy bubbling up from behind a thin shell of control; his brown eyes are bright and wide and they sparkle with the brilliant intensity of someone who spies doom hidden behind every corner and every man.
Hope's head bounces off the pavement like a basketball, then stops bouncing and stays there as she surrenders to unconciousness. Her crinos body srinks back down into that for a naked girl, covered in a patchwork of old scars, like some twisted rag doll.
Pack> Rifthealer is more focused and determined than she perhaps has ever had been. Something about this other Garou has her absolutly fixated.
[look Hope]
Hope appears to be a frail and sickly child, little more then eleven years old. Her head has been shaved bald and a dozen small permanently embedded bits of metal poke out from the scalp. Wires snake out from a small plastic box on the top of her head and link the bits of metal in Hope's scalp. In the girl's right arm, is an arterial catheter, which allows for the easy injection of any liquid. Most disturbingly of all, is that the girl breaths through her throat, due to a tracheotomy. A small white device covers the hole in her throat, preventing foreign particles from entering her lungs and moves faintly with every breath drawn. The girl is clothed in a simple white dress, little more then a shapeless sack with short sleeves.
Dr. Vissum doesn't go down as easily, but then he's not facing a concerted Crinos assault. There's a gritty, mad determination in the way he lashes out at Trevor, keeping the Galliard at bay but not making any headway himself. It's only when he sees the approach of the wolf and recognizes the futility of his course that he breaks off the kicks and scrambles back to his feet, giving Trevor just the window he'd been looking for to tackle and pin the man heavily to the ground.
Rifthealer is quick to scoop up the fallen girl in her bloodied crinos arms, injuries be damned. Her lips are peeled back in a gutteral snarl as she turns to face her cousin. ~Guards-Flame! We need to get that car off the road so no one finds it! We need a safe, /secure/ place to go. I'm taking her.~
~You got the keys?~ The Hispo rumbles to the other as the crinos goes limp, dropping the other's leg and glancing back to the car, then over to the other battle going on. ~Danger needs to be secured first. What is going on?~ She asks.
Three-Blades barks out again, putting up a very vicious baring of teeth and leaping out in front of Trevor and Vissum to block of escape. Fur and hackles bristling, teeth slavering, had she a dog-sized vest on, perhaps she would be just fitting for that sort of police work in this form. Her brushy black tail is kept high and her ears are forward and alert. And she maintains this demeanor until she is sure that Trevor has the man beneath him under control.
"Tell me what you did to her!" Trevor demands once he has Dr. Vissum under his control. The Galliard's face is inches from the other man's. "Tell me, and your death will be quick."
~Later.~ Rifthealer snaps out, keeping a careful hold on Hope. ~We need to cover the evidence. Get the car off the road, do not destroy it. It needs to be searched. We need to know more.~
A wolven brow raises upon Guards-The-Flame's brow at being ordered by the Cliath, then gives her a dangerous look. ~Rifthealer, there is no way in hell I can pick up that car by my self and drag it off to the side and /hide/ it.~ She growls loudly. ~Just calm down so that we can work together on this.~
Dr. Vissum's hands scramble for purchase against the asphalt, scraping against the rough ground and trailing blood, but he finds none, he can get no leverage. "Monsters," he sputters out in answer to Trevor's demand. "Diseased! Let go." That's all he seems to be willing to spit out: the rest of his attention goes to struggling to escape from the man's hold, despite the intimidating act put up by the wolf blocking his path.
Three-Blades looks from Trevor to Vissum, sniffing over the man. Those familiar with lupus postures notice the ragabash's disconcerted expression, tail and lips lowering but her movements stiff as she surveys the scene. This path is not used often. We have patrolled it a fair number of times, haven't we? Why are they here? And who are they? She wants answers as much as any of the rest of them, but she seems focused on the unfamiliar faces. Vissum's comment must sting her pride some, and she growls menacingly.
Rifthealer turns her eyes to the doctor and growls. ~We need the story.~ Her hackles still bristled, she jerks her eyes back to Guards-Flame. ~Where is a safe place to take her? With so much in her, she could be traced.~
"Do you want to see how much of a monster I can be?" Trevor growls out as he shifts upwards into Glabro, still endeavoring to keep hold of the man. He dosn't seem to hear Rifthealer's growl, and there's a rather maniac glint in the Galliard's eyes.
Guards-Flame pauses for a moment in thought, then tumbles. Gnawer safe haven, in the scab. Its away from the Caern. She flicks her ears upwards and turns towards the others, making her way over in a quick lumber.
Three-Blades looks up sharply and barks out, No! Not Gnawers den. Not safe there. The ragabash quickly licks the side of her jaw, glancing back to Trevor worriedly when he shifts up. Thinking some more, the ragabash rumbles, my den. My den there are little who listen. But no shifting.
Dr. Vissum doesn't respond to Trevor's threats, in fact he stops responding altogether, his muscles go slack, his struggling ceases, and nothing more passes from his lips but his frenzied breathing. His eyes stay open though, and his heart beats like a hummingbird's on speed.
Rifthealer shakes her head to Three-Blades. ~No good. Not safe to have her there. No control.~ She flattens her ears and thinks when a frustrated whine.
"Take cub to cubden." Trevor growls, his speech becoming more feral as he struggles to control his anger. "Kill this one!"
Three-Blades turns a tight circle, tail lashing about as she thinks. Then out here. No one watching out here. At Trevor's growing rage, the ragabash dares to step forward and growl back, No. We will not kill the human yet. He has answers. We need to know. This time, even though the Fianna's form is a lot bigger, she makes her stand and almost gets in his face about it. Were it not for the fact that Trevor were holding Vissum, she just might.
~Do not kill him. We need to know what he knows.~ Rifthealer says firmly. ~She is too dangerous to be taken to the farm. We do not know about her. She could be traced. There are many abandoned warehouses in the scab. She can be kept there. Once we are there, I can call my mate and his tribe. This stinks of the Weaver. They may know something we do not.~
The girl in Rifthealer's arms groans, as she lifts a hand to her examine her bloodied head.
Trevor looks like he might backhand Three-Blades for a minute. Instead, he growls again. "This one is mine to kill. Mine." He's showing all his teeth. "But I will not kill till he is not useful." He glances around to see if there is any argument.
Three-Blades stamps a paw on the ground beneath her staring intently at Trevor, until at least she is sure he's not going to simply snap the doctor's neck - or worse. A thought arises however. Where were this human and the female cub headed?
Dr. Vissum continues to play, if not dead, at least detached. He doesn't so much as flinch when Trevor demands his death, all he does is listen.
Three-Blades slowly looks from Rifthealer to Trevor. Bring them into the woods. Guards-Flame and I will cover here and join you two soon. She looks pointedly at the Fianna. No killing yet.
"No killing." Trevor agrees. "But he is mine." And he begins to move in the indicated direction, determined to take the man with him.
Three-Blades rumbles again, more to herself to tell herself as well, no killing. But the Gnawer waits for Rifthealer and Trevor to start moving before she heads over to the car's remains, sniffing it over.
Hope's eyes open and she inspects her bloodied hand, with a dazed and unfocused expression. Then she gets a good look at what is holding her and screetches at the top of her lungs. "Dr. Vissum!"
Rifthealer nearly winces with the screech, and soon is shifting to a more understandable but strong enough to hold an eleven year old Glabro form. "Shhh," she tries to calm the girl, albeit keeping a grip on her in case of struggle.
Hope's sudden exclamation is enough to rouse Dr. Vissum from his self-imposed pseudo-catatonia; he begins to struggle again but it's no more than a token effort, no real force is applied. "Hope!" he shouts out back to her. "Don't worry, just stay calm, dear, don't worry. It'll be alright, I'll find you."
"Quiet!" Trevor growls at Dr. Vissum, aiming a hard cuff across the man's face to punctuate his order.
Hope coughs and wheezes, as she sucks in air through the device embedded in her throat. "Leave him alone," she rasps, pushing against Rifthealer's chest without any effect. Unable to get away, or do anything, the girl stops fighting and begins to sob.
It is a while, given that Alicia and Yi work on clean up duty to move the car off of the road and make it seem like there was not much gone wrong. The rest would be left up to the elements, for now. Tracking the others by scent to find where they had gone, the Gaian galliard and Gnawer knock a few times on the door before entering into the abandoned establishment where Dakota and Trevor hold the other two somewhat hostage.
Dr. Vissum's head snaps to the side at Trevor's punch. His eyes are beginning to get bleary no matter how hard he tries to inject fury into them, his neck weaves here and there quite against his will, and he seems to be fighting hard to keep consciousness. He has the strength though to echo Hope's statement: "Leave her alone, you beasts!" he shouts at them with all the feeble strength he can summon. "I know who you are." With that he slumps into unconsciousness.
"You don't know jack shit." Alicia says, wearing a pair of beat up looking jeans and a sweater, her trench coat dancing about her person as she gazes over at the good Doctor, then the distressed girl. "Trevor, give me a report on what exactly is going on here and who these people are."
Dakota meanwhile, looks torn between raging and comforting. There is an obvious distress in the theurge, one that twists with underlined anger at the doctor. But, she doesn't say anything and only tries to keep Hope in check.
Yi enters after Alicia, whereupon she takes point with doorguarding, gazing over at the unconscious doctor. "I've not seen him before... or heard of any Dr. Vissum."
Hope seems to settle for crying and sucking on her thumb, as she isn't able to get over to the doctor. In their searh and disposal of the car, a small leather case filled with vials was found. Along with a set of needles, a toy dog, and a blanket.
"Dakota came to me having had a strange dream." Trevor replies. "We came to the place indicated in the dream, and they showed up." He's staring venomously at the man as he speaks. "She's a new cub, and he's been experimenting on her." He spits the words out. Angry as he is, the Galliard clearly resents Alicia having control over him and thus being able to reign him in.
Yi, holding the loot that was taken from the car, brings over to Dakota the toy dog and blanket with the thought that these items belonged to the girl. There is a clear pause, and a shudder that runs through the ragabash when she gets closer to see the extend of experimentation done on Hope. Relinquishing the items to the Gaian theurge she retreats back a couple more paces, eyes flicking from one pair to another. "I had a strange dream as well. The girl... her metal parts... I saw her too." She glances over to Trevor, then Alicia.
Hope seems to be faintly comforted at the sight of the toy, which she snatches up and hugs to her chest. The blanket is gathered up as an afterthought. She is naked now, having lost her clothes while shifting and its cold out.
"Is he talking?" Alicia asks, rolling her shoulders out of her jacket, revealing a pair of baretta's strapped to her hips. She glances over at the girl, a look of anger crossing her eyes. She holds the jacket out for the child, giving it a shake. "Put this on, its cold."
"He's not talking." Trevor growls, giving the man a little shake. "He's not going to. Let me kill him!"
Hope looks up from murmuring at her toy, completely ignoring Alicia. "NO! Leave him alone!"
Dr. Vissum is definitely not talking, from wherever it was he was left to slump. His eyes are closed and his breath whistles and occasionally splurts as it flows through bloody lips.
Alicia tosses the coat at the girl, then makes her way towards the doctor, reaching out to touch his face with her hand, letting the gift of life flow through her fingertips, gently warming him. "Wakie wakie sunshine." She says in a soft crooning voice.
Yi takes out the needles set gently, making sure not to prick her fingers on any tips unnecessary. Examining them with at first curiosity, she startles at the continued talk of killing and protesting. She closes the needleset with a snap, her own Rage twisting on itself before she can regain composure. When she does, the Gnawer looks to the doctor and asks aloud, "Does he have a wallet? If he does, then he should have ID. And other things we can find out."
Trevor glares at Alicia, watching the Doctor like a hawk as the Gaian interacts with him. "You waste our Mother's gifts on scum!"
Dr. Vissum's eyes open slowly, and just as quickly set into narrow slits. His gaze immediately sweeps the room, craning his head as necessary, searching for Hope; when he finally finds her a smile actually crosses his face, like there is, indeed, well, some hope in all this. It immediately sets into a nervous scowl though, and he remains very still.
Dakota, though, looks over Hope and glares back at the doctor with lips drawn into a tight line.
"Trevor, take a chill pill, or a walk. Its not wasting it if I get what I want." Alicia's eyes lock upon the Doctor's as she grips his chin, straightening his gaze out. "Hi, My name is Arizona, just like the state. Do you have a first name, Mister Vissum?" She asks. "I would highly advise telling the truth not only for your sake, but for that girl who obviously for some reason feels affection towards you." She clicks her tongue lightly, letting go of his face. "If I were you, I'd answer each question right the first time. If I don't like an answer, there will be a consequence. Do you understand me?"
Hope manages her own faint smile, as the doctor wakes up. She pushes at Dakota, as she tries to get to Dr. Vissum.
Yi narrows her gaze upon the doctor as he wakes, but when Hope starts to push against Dakota, she turns and takes a step that way just in case the theurge needs assistance. Dakota holds onto Hope firmly however, refusing to let the girl go back to who she thinks is the real monster.
Dr. Vissum corrects Alicia through mumbling, distracted lips: "Doctor Vissum." His attention though is on Hope: he smiles to her, trying by some twist of lip to somehow assure her that everything's going to be alright.
Trevor bares his teeth at Alicia before shifting down into a very sulky Hispo.
"Doctor Vissum, do you have a first name?" Alicia asks, this time her voice a bit more firm.
Dr. Vissum doesn't answer Alicia's question, though he does say something, speaking very slow and deliberately, as if he's not quite sure his mouth with follow his directions. He pulls his hands up to run them nervously through his white tufty hair, and he looks around at them all with wild eyes. "You people," he says quietly, "are all very sick." Suddenly, his voice assuming a rapid tempo, quick and sure as a hail of bullets, he says, "Hope, if they kill me, you have to get away from them."
Hope frowns, clearly upset, as she tucks the toy under her chin. "Why can't you just leave him alone?" She rasps, past the hole in her throat, tears in her eyes.
Yi looks over her shoulder at Vissum, then back to Hope. "Is he your father?" she asks quietly of the girl, looking at her face and trying not to get creeped out by the metallic parts.
Reaching into her pocket, Alicia takes out a fold out buck knife. She flicks the blade out quickly, then wets her lips as she stares at the man. "Doctor Vissum." She says with control in her voice. "I am going to begin cutting off things that you will miss, unless I start getting the answers that I need. You think we are monsters? You really have no clue. Right now, you are dealing with the /patient/ one the room that doesn't want you killed. I just want the truth. Consider me a CSI of sorts. So.." She says, snatching at his hand quickly in a move of speed, holding out his pinky. "Last time.. your /name/."
Trevor glares daggers at Alicia when she threatens to cut things off, but says nothing. He just sits there, a slowly bubbling furry pot of rage.
The expression Hope shows to Yi is one of confusion, as she bites her lower lip. "He looks after me," she rasps. "Teaches me fun games. Gave me puppy." She shows off the small stuffed dog, before returning her attention to Alicia. "Please, Leave him alone."
Dr. Vissum looks frantically around, and when Alicia grabs his hand he only tugs for a second, and then he gets very still. Deeper than his fear though when he speaks is a kind of dread resignation, and he says with a harsh firmness, "My name is Vissum. _Doctor_ Vissum." He knows that this isn't the wanted answer and he stares up at Alicia, his eyes already flinching from the impending cut. Still though he says to her fiercely under his breath, "Do it."
Taking in a deep breath, Alicia flicks the knife shut. It must be his lucky day, he gets to keep is finger. The look in her eyes are angry, smoldering, but very much in control. "Look.." She says in a grating voice. "You obviously care about this girl, and your reluctance only makes you appear more criminal. She has gone through enough pain. Look at her!" She snags his chin, jerking his head to stare at Hope once more. "Look at what has happened to her, the tubes.. the cuts.. do you think that is anyway a girl her age should live, regardless of what she is? Did you do this to her?" She asks, her hand trembling slightly as her fingers squeeze a bit harder into his jawline.
Yi looks at the little toy dog, tries out a small, wan smile for size. Nodding once, the ragabash glances behind her quickly at Trevor, Alicia and the doctor. The knifepoint is watched, and then she turns back to Hope with a small movement to half block her immediate view. "Arizona," she starts to say quietly, "Don't hurt him yet. I think... I think if we ask Hope..." There she looks back to the young girl. "My name's Three," the ragabash says by way of alias. "Do you live in the city, Hope? Or out here?" The question perhaps, is meant as distraction for the girl.
Hope firmly plants her thumb in her mouth and looks around, before trying to supress a shudder. "This isn't home," she mutters.
Sings-To-Spirits does not understand why so many questions. It is clear he has done this. She is a cub. It is all very clear. Why so many questions? Why do we care about his motivations, or how he feels?
Dr. Vissum doesn't follow Alicia's eyes towards the girl: he looks firmly at Alicia, he seems to shut out everything else for a moment. It's only when she's finished speaking that he turns to again look at hope, his eyes softening, like he either recognizes her suffering for the first time, or is picturing the much greater suffering he believes she'll be subject to now. "No," he finally answers the Gaian's question, again with that same resigned fierceness, like even if he's going to die, he's going to make sure he at least does it on his terms, "no, I didn't. She was born like that. You all were."
"I don't see any tubes hanging out of my neck." Alicia says, jerking his head back up to meet hers, her breath hot against his face as she leans in, sporting a pair of slightly longer canines. "She was not born with a shaved head, or bits of metal stuck in her skull. /Doctor/ Vissum.. tell me the truth. I know you don't want to die, and you pretending to be strong for her is futile. We are in a place that no one can hear you scream."
Pack> Yi no doubt, sends through the link that there is something wrong with the doctor as well. He has not experienced the Delirium. Is he... Kin? The mental query is accompanied with an incredulity and silent horror at the thought.
Yi wets her lips as Hope answers, blinking and looking back at Sings. "Because," she says quietly, in that tone the ragabash assumes when there is turmoil inside her, "Because there may be more. That is why." The ragabash turns back to Hope. "Where is home, Hope?" she asks the girl, still holding that restrained calm in her questioning.
Hope's nostrils flare and no small amount of anger starts to creep into her voice, as she is distracted by Alicia's actions. "I told you, leave him alone."
More. Sings-To-Spirits' tail and ears stick straight up, and he looks very angry at the thought. More is a good reason. The hispo is forced to admit, watching Hope thoughtfully.
"You won't hear me scream," Dr. Vissum answers Alicia with a straining fierceness, like some part of him depends on the truth of what he says. "Animal. We were so close when you stopped us. So close!" Again he looks to Hope, his fierceness melting away, replaced with warmth and a deep look of regret, the sides of his face spilling down, tears beginning to follow them.
"So close to /what/?" Alicia asks as she shoves him back up against the chair, straightening him to get his attention. "Look, talk to me alright? Or else I will be forced to kill you. We have laws to abide by, and from what I see, you've broken quite a few of them. For the love of God, man, that girl needs help, regardless of what she is, and as a /Doctor/, it is your duty to help those in need. So tell us something we want to hear!" She growls loudly, knuckles popping as she holds him square, pinning him back.
Dakota's grip remains steadily firm on the girl as Alicia starts to rough up the doctor.
Yi herself looks to be growing frustrated, but does well to bottle it. She looks over her shoulder at Alicia though, somewhat concentrating at the Gaian's back.
"Leave him alone," Hope shouts, fustration and anger getting the better of her as she shifts into crinos. She isn't frenzied this time, but she is hardly happy.
Pack> Yi tries to hold her own emotion separate from this, but it's not that possible. The Doctor and the girl are linked. We need to find out if there are more. And if there are, where they are. | Then, alarm shoots over the link from Dakota as the girl shifts.
Mine. Sings-To-Spirits growls out pointedly in Alicia's direction as she gets rougher and more angry. He at least is under enough control to interject some politeness and respect into his claim, however.
Dr. Vissum face turns red, that snaps him like a dry twig. "I _have_ helped her," he yells back at Alicia, pushing again, struggling, trying to punch her or shove her, to make her hurt, to do anything. "God help me, I tried. But -" He stops when he sees Hope transformed, his face assuming a look not of terror but one of pity, as he stares at Hope in her Crinos form, and he slumps back into his chair. He doesn't answer Alicia further and he doesn't look like he wants to; it's as if so far as that goes at least, he's just given up.
Almost immediately, Dakota is shifting up as well to match pound for pound. ~Guards-Flame, Stop roughing up the Doctor,~ the theurge growls out, attempting to keep her hold on the crinos'ed Hope.
Yi is nearly shoved aside when the girl she's close to enlarges, and the ragabash has to step back a few paces. In her own alarm, the Gnawer goes on defensive but remains in her Homid state.
Hope is pretty pathetic as a crinos really, short, skinny, and frail. Still, any type of crinos is rather dangerous.
"You haven't done a god damn fucking thing but fuck her life up!" Alicia growls, shoving him forward after taking a punch to the cheek, letting the chair topple over. She whips out a foot and plants it into his chest, one hand settling upon a gun handle, eyes shifting over towards the now crinos girl. "For the love of God guys, can't you fucking knock her out or something, or calm her down?" She bristles over in anger, taking out a deep breath. "Trevor, has he been searched? Does he have any ID on him what so ever, anything else on his person that may be dangerous or what not?"
Mine. Sings-To-Spirits becomes more agitated. I could have killed him, but did not. So he is mine. Calming somewhat, the Hispo answers in the negative. I...was not in a fit state to search him. But if he had something dangerous on him I think he would have used it on me.
Dr. Vissum doesn't move when the chair gets knocked back, he just slumps down like a rag doll, and his head bangs noisily against the floor. He doesn't move when the foot's pressed against his chest, he doesn't move when he sees the gun; through it all he keeps staring at Alicia, like he's completely unconcerned whether she does it or not. It's only when she speaks of Hope that he does anything, growling out angrily though without any ability to back up the demand, "Leave her _alone_."
Yi twitches a hand, holding it up so that Rifthealer doesn't quite to what Alicia says yet. "Arizona, she's a Cub. And the doctor Has his reasons. We should hear what he has to say, if he wants to say it." She takes her eyes away from Hope, entrusting the control of the girl to Dakota for a moment. "Look. Whatever you think, Doctor Vissum, we are what we are. There is no cure for this, and it is not a sickness." The ragabash's voice is quiet - perhaps the calmest one as well. "Why do you have Hope in your possession? How did you find her, if she is not your daughter?"
Unlike the good doctor, Hope does not stay still. Struggling against Dakota, who easily keeps her under control. She whines, a high pitched and rather pathetic sound.
Letting out a breath, Alicia shoots a look down at Vissum and ponders putting a boot through his chin. Her hands slowly uncurl off the gun. "The delerium doesn't effect him." She also notes as she takes her foot off his chest, shifting her shoulders about. "Either he's been around her way too long, or, he's related."
Dr. Vissum stays quiet as the others speak, whether he's addressed or not. When he finally says something his voice is hushed and bitter, there's resentment in it, disgust, also almost a wistfulness, like he really doesn't know what he's thinking himself: "We are not related," is all he says.
Yi still remains with her back turned to the two crinos, even if she is dangerously close to Hope's claws. "Doctor Vissum... why do you have her then? What is your reason for running around with a little girl like this?"
"You know why," Dr. Vissum answers Yi bitterly, struggling up against Alicia's heel, then giving up. "_You_ stopped us. You made us run! And we were so close."
"We don't know why or else we wouldn't be wasting our time asking you." Alicia says with a growl, sliding a gun out and tossing it to Yi. "Watch him." With that, she starts to pat him down, searching his person.
"No," Yi counters, surprisingly calm under this fire. Perhaps Too calm. Yet she is attentive enough to catch the gun without missing a beat. She doesn't, however, level it at the doctor. Trevor being around should be enough, after all. "Doctor Vissum, maybe I can guess why, but I have not met someone like you, or like Hope, before. There are many things I don't know... but one thing that I do know, is that you couldn't have had Hope like this, and not have a reason for it." She advances another couple of paces forward and to the side, so as she can see the Doctor's face and look down at him. "What were you so close to?"
Sings-To-Spirits watches the Doctor, eyes locked onto his throat. His tail brushes up and down lazily now and again, and the Galliard has the quality of a circling shark about him/
Dr. Vissum doesn't flinch as Alicia searches out his pockets. He remains quietly there like a lump of clay, unresisting and entirely passive. It takes him a long time, five seconds, to answer Yi's question, and he does so simply: "The cure," he tells her. "That's why you stopped us."
Hope clearly does not know the mother's tongue, but lets her displeasure know through a series of plaintive whines and howling.
"Long way from Idaho, Egbert." Alicia says, flipping through the identification. She pockets the the three cards, then tosses the wallet back at him, money intact. "There is no cure, Doctor Vissum." She says. "What you have stumbled across is a legacy in the making. Thousands of years we have existed, saving the world to be honest, in the worst ways possible." She stares down at him evenly, letting out a breath. "Its obvious you aren't evil.. that or you are really good at yanking my chain, which I sincerely doubt since yer looking death in the eyes." She licks her lips a bit. "But I also think you've been getting some funding for your lil research over there on Hope there. How did you find her?" She asks. "Was she given to you?"
Rifthealer keeps a definitive hold on the whining crinos, ears flattening as she lets out a growl much as a mother wolf would sound to a cub for silence. Whether or not Hope understands though, is a different matter.
Yi knits her brow together, scrutinizing the Doctor's face to see if he is lying. However, for the moment the ragabash seems inclined to believe him. After Alicia's monologue, the ragabash looks back to Hope. There is also, a look of pity in her eyes, but it is carefully tailored with a certainty of her own faith. "You would go so far to maim her so... just to try and find a cure? And why?" She turns back to the doctor, sucking in a breath in attempt to hold back that tide of emotion welling. "Why Doctor Vissum? What does she mean to you? What does finding a cure for this mean for you?" She gestures with a snap of her hand towards Hope - the one holding the gun.
Dr. Vissum's fear has travelled through resignation and apparently into a cynical sarcasm, for he answers Alicia coldly, "With a bow." He looks over at Hope, and his features steel further: this time there's not much sympathy left in them, it's like he's been run dry. He looks over to Yi with that same emptiness. "Do whatever you want to me," he answers the Garou plainly. "You'll get no more answers. Nothing's accomplished. Be good, Hope. Don't let them get to you."
Hope stamps her feet on the ground in fustration, like a child on the verge of throwing a tantrum.
"Alright, Spirit Singer, do your thing." Alicia says as she nudges the man in the side. "I got your ID. We got people who work on the inside and we'll just pull up your entire life and disect it, and well.. expose your entire world to our people and then take it crumbling down. Thanks for the chat."
As promised Dr. Vissum doesn't respond to the threat, not even to the nudge. He stares up at the ceiling like there's some sort of consolation to be found there.
Sings-To-Spirits' eyes flash cruelly, and the hispo shifts up into glabro. Then he lumbers over to Vissum, and attempts to grab him and take him outside.
"No!" Hope wails, forcing the human word past a crinos throat, as her ears flatten against her skull.
Dr. Vissum offers no resistance, he knows the futility of it. He hangs by Trevor's arms as he drags him outside, limp as a ragdoll. He barely manages to get something out, like it's choked out of him, like he has to push it through a vast and rigid emotional wall by sheer force of will. "I love you Hope," he says to her as he passes through the door. "Goodbye."
Yi shakes her head, refusing all of this. "Not Yet," she says firmly at Alicia and Trevor, stepping over so that she's in front of the door. "I refuse to believe that this is the end of his trouble. What are we going to do with her, then?" Yi indicates Hope with a look to the frustrated crinos held only by Rifthealer. "We kill him, and there is nothing more we will find out. And I doubt Hope will have the mind to talk. Are you saying we should cull her? She would not last a day." This is the question she poses to Alicia, eyes hard before she looks at Vissum.
"Yi.. " Alicia says with a growl in her throat. She gives the Gnawer a long stare. "If we let him live, we're continuing to create a greater risk for our people. He isn't going to talk, and we /got/ what we need." Her eyes catch her pack mates, staring evenly.
Trevor stops when Yi blocks his way. He looks like he's about to get physical with the Ragabash, but that would involve letting go of Vissum. And the Galliard isn't about to do that. So he just stands there.
Alicia pages: Mind speak oO (We got it covered Yi, play along, please)
Yi stares back at Alicia with narrowed eyes, but blinks a few more times and looks away. The gunless hand comes up to her head and she looks back to Alicia, lips tightened. "Maybe /we/ can't make him talk," she says slowly, "but I can think of quite a few who can..." she growls out. Still, the ragabash slowly takes a step away from the door, eyes shifting to Trevor and Vissum, mainly on the Doctor. "You are being a fool, Doctor Vissum," she mutters loud enough so that it can be heard.
Dr. Vissum takes back up his silent non-resistance and he puts on a brave face. The only struggle he makes is to keep her eyes focused straight on Hope, a quiet, unvoiced wish in there, or an apology, or a benediction, something at least that passes only between the two of them.
Hope slumps to the ground, as she returns to her birthform. A naked girl, little more then a large patchwork of old scars, crying her eyes out in huge gasping sobs.
Alicia glances between the Fianna and the Gnawer, then over to her cousin with the cub. She lets out a soft breath, then looks over to Trevor. "I dunno.. " She says, trailing off a bit in thought as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Regardless Yi... in the end.. he knows too much. He can either die now or die later. I think he's willing to expose us since he's so determined to find the truth."
Trevor actually looks pained when Hope begins to cry. Perhaps even a little ashamed. The Galliard forces his face back into the former cruel visage as quickly as he can. Now Yi is out of the way, he hustles Vissum out the door.
Rifthealer's ears fold back when the girl shifts back to her birthform, though the theurge remains in crinos. Her demeanor says it all: Things are just Wrong here, but with Alicia in charge, she doesn't say much in protest.
Yi searches out Alicia as Trevor and Vissum are about to pass. "And if he actually had something to prove his claim? If there is a cure? Even if there is not... what about Her? Maybe it is better to put her out of her misery as well. They can pass on together."
Through her tears, Hope searches the ground around her until she finds her toy. Clutching it to her chest, she curls up into a fetal ball and covers her body with the blanket. She hides from the world, while continuing to cry.
"Yi, I'll pretend that as a new moon, you are just making a joke." Alicia says, giving the Gnawer an incredulous look. "You and Dakota are to stay here with her at all times. Take turns on shift so the two of you don't wear each other out. Trevor and I are going to take care of some business, and then we will deal with the rest later." She glances to the Coggie and Gnawer, then over to the girl with some pain in her eyes. "Put my jacket on her also. Its cold. I'll bring food tomorrow." With that, she's following after the Fianna.
Yi perhaps, isn't making any jokes. But with the exit of Vissum and Trevor, followed by Alicia, the Gnawer follows them with gaze only. She looks at the gun in her hand, to Hope, to Rifthealer, and with a sigh... flips the safety into place for the gun. She nods only once, falling silent.
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Message: 17/17 in folder main Received: Sun Dec 12 01:01:54 2004
From: Alicia
To: stagpack (personal mail alias), Signe, Megan, Trevor, and Layne
Cc: Dr. Vissum, and Hope
Subject: Crisis in the woods. Important Galliard news
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Hey, early Sunday morning, like /early/, early - Ali is banging on Megan's door. She goes on to explain that Dakota and Trevor came across a girl and a doctor in the woods after Dakota was having odd dreams. Yi and herself came upon them after catching some heat in the packlink and helped capture the pair. The girl is a Garou, and its obvious she has been experiemented on. She's in bad shape and very emotional. The Doctor won't say a darn word to us about anything. Ali tried a few tactics but only got a front. She didn't want to kill him until after Megan or Layne had a crack at him.
She has his ID. His name is Egbert Vissum from Idaho. She has a band card of his and a Block Buster. She patted him down and came up with nothing else. Yi looted his car before the two of us stashed it in the woods and made sure to not leave behind prints. The car is in bad shape, ripped up from whatever Dakota and Trevor did to it.
Ali is afraid of a possible huge veil breech if this Doctor is being funded by another organization. The only thing the Doc would say, is that he was searching for a /cure/ and that he was -close- and that we mucked it up. Please reply back guys!
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Message: 18/18 in folder main Received: Sun Dec 12 01:04:30 2004
From: Alicia
To: stagpack (personal mail alias), Signe, Megan, Trevor, and Layne
Cc: Dr. Vissum, and Hope
Subject: One more thing
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The girl is being taken care of by Yi and Dakota in an abandoned shack like residence somewhere deep in Kent's territory, and the Dr is being watched over by Trevor and Alicia in the woods, but not near the bawn. There is an obvious affection between the pair and they felt it was best to keep 'em both alive and away from each other to study them. Put them in a controlled environment.
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