HEARTS IN DARKNESS: THE BODY

[yourkeepers]

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.

Comments

[justbeclaws]

[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.]

[hand_of_courage]

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.

[justbeclaws]

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.]

[hand_of_courage]

[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.

[subtleserenity]

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...]

[seerchlight]

[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-