Work Text:
There are 206 bones in the human body.
Marcille would know, she was looking at all two hundred of them right in front of her.
Or- was it?
Her eyes were a little bloodshot, staring down at the- the… the woman beneath her.
“27 per hand, 1, 2, 3…”
Her fingers were stained, nearly black at this point from the cold dry air around her. Still, they moved with precision, pointing to each bone, each little piece before her as she counted.
Recounted.
“Tibia, fibula, femurs… how many was it for the-“
Marcille muttered to herself as she nudged a kneecap back into place, picking them both up and hesitating before swapping which side they were on. That looked… better.
Who was she kidding?
She counted each toe, each rib, all 24 vertebrae. Struggling to keep the sternum and clavicles balanced in the right places. It was frustrating, her fingers were numb but every time she lifted them to her mouth to breathe life back into them, she smelt the gore-soaked into her skin and went back to work.
Setting her hand on the skull for a moment, Marcille’s thumb traced the cranial sutures.
“We couldn’t find your ears...” Marcille muttered to the woman under her hand, a frown finding its place on her sunken features. “Sorry… but I doubt at this point a missing stapes or two will change the outcome.” A silent laugh left her throat and she made sure the skull was still in place, careful not to chip any teeth.
The look on Laois' face when he found it was still on her mind, the sheer dread and panic that he had failed to hide that she now felt in turn. It made her shiver, closing her eyes for a moment to focus again.
She counts each rib, unsure if she’s done it already, doubting herself if the scapulas are facing the right way. The names of each bone are burned in the back of her throat like a sick prayer as she goes over them again.
There are two hundred and six bones in the body of the woman she loves. She knows, she’s held every single one of them.
Marcille finally stands, numb to the elbows but she grips Ambrosia without falter. She steels her resolve and backs away from Falin to get in position.
This has to work.
“Okay… I’m going to begin.”