14th of Frost, 4622
"Gentle," he warned as he placed the scalpel in her hand.
Her one eye shined in the low lamplight of the room, the metal of his blade reflected in her eye. "....How deep?" She quizzed after raising her gaze to his.
"An inch, a little more than an inch..." He pressed his jaws tightly, then rolled up his sleeve to reveal his skinny arm. "...Half an inch," he corrected. "We need muscle, but don't take me down to the bone."
She smiled a little and nodded to his directions. "Are you ready?"
With his metallic arm to hold up his sleeve, Arkash pressed his claws into the table and fully extended his arm with his back to the human. "...Ready," he affirmed to his own despair.
Her hand came to rest on his, then pressed firmly to hold it down. Arkash squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the bite of steel in his scales. His nose curled and his teeth bared. A low growl began to rumble in his throat as she cut into the muscles of the area, and his grip on the table tightened as she sawed through his muscle. Every push and pull was tangible, ever-present, and unescapable throughout the ordeal. "Nearly done," she assured with a gentle pat on his hand.
Her attempts to comfort him were in vain as every primal instinct the Rath carried urged him to take action, to stop the attack on his body, but still, he stuck through. His metallic hand came to wrap just beneath his bicep and squeezed tight enough to slow the blood flow as it ran down his arm. His eyes stayed pressed tight, his grip immense, even after she declared it was over.
"Here you go," she chimed and placed the chunk of evenly-cut meat on the table. "You did so well," she offered with a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.
Teary-eyed, Arkash peered at the bloody clump of meat, then shakily unclasped the table. "Sinew Gun," he rasped.
Promptly, the woman retrieved the requested tool, and the Rath accepted it. Slowly, Arkash curled his arm to find the area she'd cut from with the gaping hole as evidence. His metallic hand-held still as he aimed the nozzle, and promptly filled the wound with Sinew Foam, which quickly assumed the shape and composition of his biology. The wound had healed, but his nerves still fired their signals to warn of the damage to the area. Arkash put down the Sinew Gun and gently felt over the area with two of his mechanical fingers. He tested his motor functions to ensure he still had the full range of movement and found everything to be working. Gradually, the pain diminished, and Arkash breathed a shaky sigh.
"Thank you," he began, then wiped the tears from his eyes. "I hate doing that myself," he clarified.
"A bit deeper than you're used to, huh?" She quizzed, still rubbing his shoulder.
He nodded a bit, then exhaled deeply. "Yeah... Superficial shit doesn't bother me any, but that... Holy fuck, I could never do it again and it would be too soon."
She furrowed her brow at the expression, almost confused, then laughed a little.
"What's so funny?" Arkash asked, almost offended with a furrow of his brow.
"Oh nothing," she sighed. "You're funny, that's all," she brought her free hand to his other shoulder while she thought. "What's next, huh?"
Arkash blinked, then looked at the chunk of meat as it oozed into the stonework. "Next, I've gotta... Lay out the tendons and the sheathes," he explained with a little difficulty over the frog in his throat.
"Oh, I see..." She trailed on, pressing her thumbs into the musculature of his shoulders. "So... What are you waiting for?"
A deep exhale began his answer, his eyes stayed lidded as he spoke "for this to stop feeling good."
She laughed at that, then released her hold and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "You're so easy, I swear," she chimed as she squeezed him.
His hands held her arms where they wrapped him until he noticed the dried blood that caked her hand. "Stop," he commanded as a switch flipped and all the ease in his bones disappeared.
"..Why?" She asked, uncertain, hesitant.
"My blood; it's on you," he explained as he unlocked her hands and undid her embrace before he spun on the spot to take her by the hands.
"So?" She scoffed with a slight smile.
"It can turn you," he explained further, then led her to the far table, away from the lamp light. There in the dark, the blood began to glow, illuminating in his blighted eyes.
"...Turn me?"
"Into a Dranoch," he finished with emphasis.
"Oh..." She called without any sort of urgency.
With the utmost care, he lifted her sleeve to expose all the blood that had poured from his wound. There, he assumed the shape of his human form, swallowed hard, and smacked his lips at the dryness. "Sorry about this," he said as he brushed his hair out of his face.
"What are you..?" she began before Arkash dipped his head and dragged his tongue across the bloodied skin of her hand. "...Oh."
His true form was much better at retaining water, and so the dryness of his palette made it difficult to dislodge and consume the spilled blood, but he continued until every last flicker of light was gone. Izzy was still in wake of the treatment, the skin of her cheeks flushed. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Not feverish at all?"
"N-no, I'm fine," she stammered and took her hand back. "Thanks for looking out for me," she said with a slight smile as Arkash began to re-assume his True form.
"Of course," he bowed his head. "I'm sorry we don't have enough water to clean it properly," he said with a shrug.
"No, no problem at all." She said with a smile.
With a soft smile, Arkash bowed his head and then returned to the table where the bones of his new arm rested. "Alright..." he began, then assumed the Grafting Needle and began to weave the etheric blue thread through all the digits of the fingers, the hand, along the Radius and Ulna, and stopped toward where his elbow was supposed to join. The tendon sheath was spun carefully for each digit.
"I've... I'm gonna fetch more water; we're down to our last couple a' skins," she declared. "Do you need any help before I head out?"
Arkash looked up from the weaving of the etheric cord, stared at her blankly in thought for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No, I should be good from here," he assured. "Thank you though," as he returned to the weaving, all his attention absorbed.
She nodded softly, then bowed her head as she withdrew from the room and slunk into the hall.
The Necromancer was utterly captivated by his sewing, and before long, had finished the layout of his tendons. With a twist of the needle, the etheric material set, and its glow receded. All at once, his tendons took shape and joined his joints together. From there, the Necromancer was able to use the chunk of meat that had been carved from his arm to grow more muscle, which he managed with his living arm while the mechanical one held the meat in place. Sinew Foam gradually converted to bands of muscle, all carefully placed and positioned for the contractive pulley strength that his grip demanded. Very quickly, Arkash finished with the muscles of his forearm and set the Sinew gun down when he reviewed his work. A deep exhale deflated his lungs as he took his Grafting needle once more, then began to weave all the necessary vessels into the tissue.
The arteries branched into veins, branched into capillaries, and offered ample supply of much-needed oxygen. And when Arkash twisted the needle, the vessels set as he'd designed.
With a deep sigh, he began to weave the nervous system into the entire thing. A tedious process, but necessary. Nerve endings were placed at the tips of each finger, and spired down the muscles of his forearm for selective activation and motor control. Again, he set the etheric thread with a twist and nodded his approval as the construction set. Finally, he began to wrap the arm, which had by then accumulated some heft, in Sinew Cloth. Evenly distributed he wrapped every stretch with the woven temporary fabric, then poured on an activator that immediately spread and covered the entirety of the limb in dark basalt scales.
The Osteoderms were added individually with his left arm as a reference for their placement, and the length of each claw was implanted with the roots dug and deliberately planted in each digit too.
Finally, it was done. All that remained was to attach it.
"Gentle," he warned as he placed the scalpel in her hand.
Her one eye shined in the low lamplight of the room, the metal of his blade reflected in her eye. "....How deep?" She quizzed after raising her gaze to his.
"An inch, a little more than an inch..." He pressed his jaws tightly, then rolled up his sleeve to reveal his skinny arm. "...Half an inch," he corrected. "We need muscle, but don't take me down to the bone."
She smiled a little and nodded to his directions. "Are you ready?"
With his metallic arm to hold up his sleeve, Arkash pressed his claws into the table and fully extended his arm with his back to the human. "...Ready," he affirmed to his own despair.
Her hand came to rest on his, then pressed firmly to hold it down. Arkash squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the bite of steel in his scales. His nose curled and his teeth bared. A low growl began to rumble in his throat as she cut into the muscles of the area, and his grip on the table tightened as she sawed through his muscle. Every push and pull was tangible, ever-present, and unescapable throughout the ordeal. "Nearly done," she assured with a gentle pat on his hand.
Her attempts to comfort him were in vain as every primal instinct the Rath carried urged him to take action, to stop the attack on his body, but still, he stuck through. His metallic hand came to wrap just beneath his bicep and squeezed tight enough to slow the blood flow as it ran down his arm. His eyes stayed pressed tight, his grip immense, even after she declared it was over.
"Here you go," she chimed and placed the chunk of evenly-cut meat on the table. "You did so well," she offered with a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.
Teary-eyed, Arkash peered at the bloody clump of meat, then shakily unclasped the table. "Sinew Gun," he rasped.
Promptly, the woman retrieved the requested tool, and the Rath accepted it. Slowly, Arkash curled his arm to find the area she'd cut from with the gaping hole as evidence. His metallic hand-held still as he aimed the nozzle, and promptly filled the wound with Sinew Foam, which quickly assumed the shape and composition of his biology. The wound had healed, but his nerves still fired their signals to warn of the damage to the area. Arkash put down the Sinew Gun and gently felt over the area with two of his mechanical fingers. He tested his motor functions to ensure he still had the full range of movement and found everything to be working. Gradually, the pain diminished, and Arkash breathed a shaky sigh.
"Thank you," he began, then wiped the tears from his eyes. "I hate doing that myself," he clarified.
"A bit deeper than you're used to, huh?" She quizzed, still rubbing his shoulder.
He nodded a bit, then exhaled deeply. "Yeah... Superficial shit doesn't bother me any, but that... Holy fuck, I could never do it again and it would be too soon."
She furrowed her brow at the expression, almost confused, then laughed a little.
"What's so funny?" Arkash asked, almost offended with a furrow of his brow.
"Oh nothing," she sighed. "You're funny, that's all," she brought her free hand to his other shoulder while she thought. "What's next, huh?"
Arkash blinked, then looked at the chunk of meat as it oozed into the stonework. "Next, I've gotta... Lay out the tendons and the sheathes," he explained with a little difficulty over the frog in his throat.
"Oh, I see..." She trailed on, pressing her thumbs into the musculature of his shoulders. "So... What are you waiting for?"
A deep exhale began his answer, his eyes stayed lidded as he spoke "for this to stop feeling good."
She laughed at that, then released her hold and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "You're so easy, I swear," she chimed as she squeezed him.
His hands held her arms where they wrapped him until he noticed the dried blood that caked her hand. "Stop," he commanded as a switch flipped and all the ease in his bones disappeared.
"..Why?" She asked, uncertain, hesitant.
"My blood; it's on you," he explained as he unlocked her hands and undid her embrace before he spun on the spot to take her by the hands.
"So?" She scoffed with a slight smile.
"It can turn you," he explained further, then led her to the far table, away from the lamp light. There in the dark, the blood began to glow, illuminating in his blighted eyes.
"...Turn me?"
"Into a Dranoch," he finished with emphasis.
"Oh..." She called without any sort of urgency.
With the utmost care, he lifted her sleeve to expose all the blood that had poured from his wound. There, he assumed the shape of his human form, swallowed hard, and smacked his lips at the dryness. "Sorry about this," he said as he brushed his hair out of his face.
"What are you..?" she began before Arkash dipped his head and dragged his tongue across the bloodied skin of her hand. "...Oh."
His true form was much better at retaining water, and so the dryness of his palette made it difficult to dislodge and consume the spilled blood, but he continued until every last flicker of light was gone. Izzy was still in wake of the treatment, the skin of her cheeks flushed. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Not feverish at all?"
"N-no, I'm fine," she stammered and took her hand back. "Thanks for looking out for me," she said with a slight smile as Arkash began to re-assume his True form.
"Of course," he bowed his head. "I'm sorry we don't have enough water to clean it properly," he said with a shrug.
"No, no problem at all." She said with a smile.
With a soft smile, Arkash bowed his head and then returned to the table where the bones of his new arm rested. "Alright..." he began, then assumed the Grafting Needle and began to weave the etheric blue thread through all the digits of the fingers, the hand, along the Radius and Ulna, and stopped toward where his elbow was supposed to join. The tendon sheath was spun carefully for each digit.
"I've... I'm gonna fetch more water; we're down to our last couple a' skins," she declared. "Do you need any help before I head out?"
Arkash looked up from the weaving of the etheric cord, stared at her blankly in thought for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No, I should be good from here," he assured. "Thank you though," as he returned to the weaving, all his attention absorbed.
She nodded softly, then bowed her head as she withdrew from the room and slunk into the hall.
The Necromancer was utterly captivated by his sewing, and before long, had finished the layout of his tendons. With a twist of the needle, the etheric material set, and its glow receded. All at once, his tendons took shape and joined his joints together. From there, the Necromancer was able to use the chunk of meat that had been carved from his arm to grow more muscle, which he managed with his living arm while the mechanical one held the meat in place. Sinew Foam gradually converted to bands of muscle, all carefully placed and positioned for the contractive pulley strength that his grip demanded. Very quickly, Arkash finished with the muscles of his forearm and set the Sinew gun down when he reviewed his work. A deep exhale deflated his lungs as he took his Grafting needle once more, then began to weave all the necessary vessels into the tissue.
The arteries branched into veins, branched into capillaries, and offered ample supply of much-needed oxygen. And when Arkash twisted the needle, the vessels set as he'd designed.
With a deep sigh, he began to weave the nervous system into the entire thing. A tedious process, but necessary. Nerve endings were placed at the tips of each finger, and spired down the muscles of his forearm for selective activation and motor control. Again, he set the etheric thread with a twist and nodded his approval as the construction set. Finally, he began to wrap the arm, which had by then accumulated some heft, in Sinew Cloth. Evenly distributed he wrapped every stretch with the woven temporary fabric, then poured on an activator that immediately spread and covered the entirety of the limb in dark basalt scales.
The Osteoderms were added individually with his left arm as a reference for their placement, and the length of each claw was implanted with the roots dug and deliberately planted in each digit too.
Finally, it was done. All that remained was to attach it.
Image source.
