thechanged | HEARTS IN DARKNESS: THE BODY

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HEARTS IN DARKNESS: THE BODY

The body glimmers as the light spreads over its features, like a statue of precious metals stained with blood. Golden hair soaks in a pool of red that paints the floor like a canvas, extending out around the head and shoulders of the victim, still lazily seeping and expanding.

It's the body of the the oracle, and she is very much dead.

Her entire throat and chest is a mess of gore. The blood coats the skin and cloth so that it's hard to make out details, but there is one thing certain - something has cut deep into her chest cavity, as it carving something out from inside.

The body is still warm, but you never heard her scream.

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[He hated sleeping. Every time he woke up there was sense of panic in his chest and the worry that, for some reason, a significant amount of time he hadn't tracked had passed. This night was no exception. It was not a pleasant waking and as he started to explore, he grew more worried that he had not actually awoken. That he was in a dream.

Finding her, her shining, golden and white body ripped open... it had to be a nightmare. He knelt down to touch her skin and knew that it was very, very real. She was still warm. It had only just happened. He couldn't save her, but he could find the killer.

And he could kill them.]

[There's more than one person wandering looking for answers. When she notices a glow that doesn't belong to Lights, Brimstone's drawn to it. Another corpse, this one definitely dead. She recognizes the girl from passing knowledge of the other house residents, but she's no one particularly important to Brimstone.

The manner of her death and the cruelty of it, though, are something to worry about. Murdered. It's the first thought to enter her mind. But why? And what purpose would carving her up like that serve?]

We need to find Copper. She's got a nose might be able to sniff out whoever's done this.

[They also need to check on a few things in the secret room. That cruel little dagger is foremost in her mind.]

[The timekeeper shoots a glare at the woman. He wasn't angry at her specifically, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to care about finding others to help. That meant waiting and he didn't want to wait.

It was sensible, though.]

Who's Copper?

[Lights is quick to join them - the glow of his body can be seen from even further. He floats behind Brimstone, instantly taking in the details of the scene. He notes the look on the clock's face, and he frowns.]

Did you know her?

Yes.

[The word was growled out, belying a tightness in his chest.]

You make light. Help me with tracking the blood trail.

[Brimstone isn't going to object to whatever Lights wants to do, but she's been asked a question.]

Copper's come kinda wolf. Powerful sense of smell. Might be she could follow that blood trail farther than anything you can see.

[That feeling about the dagger continues to nag her and she glances over at Lights.]

Got an idea about what mighta been used for it, too... We should check that room near the hearth.

[Lights moves forward a bit, though he seems reluctant to separate from Brimstone. So instead he just shines a beam of light on the body in particular, and starts to glow might brightly so that the entire area becomes more illuminated.]

Tell me if you need more light somewhere in particular.

[He's clearly distracted, and at first doesn't understand what she's suggesting. He speaks off to the side to her, even while he focuses most of his attention on helping the clock.]

Huh? For what?

You remember that dagger we found under the table? The one that helps a person on his way to bein' sick? Looks like someone was cuttin' on that girl and the only other folk I know who can do that're swords or back asleep and that don't look like sword wounds to me.

Can I get some light on the wound? Frrom the side orr something?

[It's hard to see without her own shadow falling across it. And...that is a lot of extremely crimson blood. Huh.]

Shit...

[Any further comment on dagger business is cut off by him trying to help out the typewriter. Poor boy seems to be in high demand at the moment.]

Yeah, I can do that, just wait a fucking second.

[He tosses out a small orb of light from one of his hands, which floats down to the corps's chest and pushes inside. Lights immediately winces, looking very displeased.]

Fuck, this is so gross.

[Everything he casts his light on is filtering directly into his range of vision, of course.]

What're you seein' in there?

[Her attention is distracted from the dagger for a moment.]

[The wolf appears near the group, hovering awkwardly. His hand is over his nose in an attempt to mask part of the scent. It's horrifying. He knows even without getting close that someone has been killed because it's the only possible way for there to be that much blood.]

What... what the fuck...

[His head whipped around at the request and he had to struggle to keep himself from sprinting over and pulling the woman away. It shouldn't matter if they touched her body now that she was so very, very dead, right? It would help them figure out what had happened, right?]

...be careful. Please.

[She nods, sympathetic. She's never met the dead person, but they must have been important to the clock.]

I will. You...prrobably don't want to look, though. [She doesn't particularly want to either, but somebody has to, and she'd rather know than not.]

[She pokes around for a few minutes, occasionally hissing quietly as she finds a new injury or probes deeper into the chest wound. Suddenly, she pulls her hands out with a muffled squeak.]

That's enough, Lights. Thank you.

...This may be a kind of stupid orr awful question, but everryone herre is so differrent, and - she should have a bloodpusherr, rright? Somewherre arround herre? [She gestures at her own chest.]

A heart.

[He gives a single, firm nod before a desperate thought comes to him.]

I have three. I can give her one. Would that make her come back to life? I can run on only two.

I don't...think so? I'm not a medicannihilatorr orr anything, I don't know how to attach one, if it would even worrk. And that's not...everrything.

[One of her horns dings nervously. There's no way to share the necessary information without hurting him.]
I think that happened afterr, actually? I mean, it would prrobably take a while. But someone cut herr thrroat firrst, and then stabbed herr underr the chin. She didn't feel anything.

[She's not sure of that at all, but it doesn't hurt to let him think that.]

[So it probably wouldn't work. It didn't really make him feel better that she'd been killed before her heart was taken out. Dead was dead and he'd been stuck under his own body, unconscious and unaware of the danger to her.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the blood trail.]

Please just... make sure she's treated with respect.

She's missin' her heart?

[Brimstone's eyes widen. What? The word comes naturally, but she places a hand to her breast. Does she have one? She's a rifle, not a servant, but still...]

[Lights is quick to extinguish the light inside of the oracle's chest. He really didn't want to keep looking at that.]

Man, what the actual fuck-

Over here.

[The timekeeper ignored the conversation the other two were having once the light requested was given and followed the blood trail out about ten feet. With Lights' light, he could just make out what appeared to be scorch marks.]

I think there was a fire this way. Something or someone burned the floor.

[Lights picks up on a bit of burning as well, through the beam of light he is aiming.]

Wow shit, isn't that unusual.

[He's being sarcastic.]

[Brimstone's slightly more diplomatic.]

Fresh burns or somethin' older?

[His glare is completely directed at Lights when he responds to Brimstone.]

I can't tell. Fire is usually something I avoid.

[On account of being made of wood]

[The collection of lights in the library eventually draws out another lightsource. The firebrand casually walks over, holding himself up like a torch.] Hey guys! What's going on over... here...

[That is another dead body. He stares at it for a moment.

Once he's assured himself that yes, that body is dead, and extremely fresh looking, he moves over towards the light and the clock when he hears the words "fire" and "burned."]

... It wasn't me.

[The timekeeper brightened. Swordarms! He'd used that sword before. Maybe he could use him again?]

We need to search more. Whoever did this went off in this direction. Can I take you so I have a light to see by?

Re: FINDING THE BODY

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