#macabre warning

[04:37] AT: hEY KURLOZ, i WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU'D WANT YOUR BOX THINGIE BACK,

[04:37] AT: sINCE THE FROGS ARE, uHH, wELL, nO LONGER MUCH OF A THING,

[04:38] TC: :o?

[04:39] AT: uHHHM, yEAHHH, tHEY ARE SORT OF, dEAD, bECAUSE i SCIENCED ON THEM, bUT AT LEAST THEY ARE IN A BETTER PLACE, oR SOMETHING, rATHER THAN THIS SPACE SHIP,

[04:39] AT: i MEAN, tHAT ISN'T MUCH OF A PLACE FOR FROGS, i THINK, aNYWAY,

[05:05] TC: OUR AMPHIBIANS HATH SHARED SIMILAR TRAGEDIES, OH MY BROTHER.

[05:05] TC: I'VE DEDUCED WITHOUT CONTEST THAT THEM LUBRICIOUS MOTHER FUCKERS AIN'T TO LIVE LONG WITHOUT THEIR VISCERA TUCKED SAFELY WITHIN. :o)

[05:07] AT: oH, wELL, eRR, i THINK MOST AMPHIBIANS, oR ANYTHING REALLY, wOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LIVE LONG WITH THEIR INSIDE BITS HANGING OUT, bUT, iT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO EXPERIMENT, i SUPPOSE,

[05:08] AT: bUT, yEAH, wOULD YOU LIKE THE BOX BACK, fOR ANY FUTURE, uH, fROG WRANGLING, oR SHOULD i JUST HANG ONTO IT,

[05:10] TC: TIS A NOBLE CAUSE TO SCRUTINIZE WHEN SUCH CREATURES DOTH REVIVE AND SUBSIST AFTER THEY ARE RENDDERED GLACIAL AND WHOLLY INERT.

[05:11] TC: I SHALL ACCEPT THE HUMBLE STORAGE RECEPTACLE IF THOU AREN’T OPPOSED TO DELIVERING THAT SHIT TO WHENCE IT MOTHER FUCKING CAME.

[05:11] TC: :o)

[05:12] AT: dEFINITELY, i MEAN, iT WOULD BE PRETTY AMAZING IF PEOPLE COULD SOMEHOW DO THAT TOO, i WONDER IF SEADWELLERS CAN DO IT, hM, eRR, sORRY, wENT ON A TANGENT THERE,

[05:12] AT: kIND OF, aNYWAY,

[05:13] AT: aND, wELL, nO, i DON'T MIND i GUESS,

[05:14] AT: aRE YOU ALWAYS DOWN THERE THOUGH,

[05:16] TC: PERHAPS WE SHOULD ENLIST THE ASSISTANCE OF AN AQUATIC MOTHER FUCKER TO TEST THIS BITCHIN HYPOTHESIS. :o)

[05:17] TC: BUT TIS ONLY NATURAL TO FIND MYSELF SEQUESTERED DUE TO THE TRADE IN WHICH I PARTAKE. FEW HARSH LEGIT ENTHUSIASM IN LINGERING WITH THE MOTHERFUCKIN DEAD.

[05:18] AT: uHH, mAYBE, i DON'T THINK ANYONE WOULD BE, eXACTLY UP FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, tHOUGH, aND IT WASN'T AS MUCH OF A HYPOTHESIS AS IT WAS JUST ME THINKING OUT LOUD, sO, uHM, i DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY,

[05:18] TC: :o)

[05:18] AT: aND YEEEAH, i SUPPOSE SO, bUT DO YOU NEVER TAKE ANY BREAKS OR ANYTHING,

[05:19] AT: eRR, sORRY IF i'M PRYING OR ANYTHING, iT REALLY ISN'T ANY OF MY BUSINESS,

[05:20] TC: OPPORTUNITIES PLENTIFUL WHAT TO FIND MYSELF A SHITBIT OF MIRTHFUL REPOSE.

[05:22] AT: oH, oKAY, tHAT'S GOOD THEN,

[05:23] AT: aNYWAY, i SHOULD PROBABLY COME ON OVER, bUT, eRGH,

[05:23] AT: dO YOU HAVE ANYONE, tHERE,

[05:23] AT: aS IN, eX-PEOPLE,

[05:23] AT: rIGHT NOW,

[05:23] TC: :o)

[05:24] AT: ,,,

[05:24] AT: tHAT'S A YES, iSN'T IT,

[05:24] TC: :o)

[05:24] AT: eRRRGHH, oKAY,

[05:24] AT: i'LL BE OVER,

[05:27] AT: *Well, at least he was prepared for the not-so-alive people this time around. Despite not being a huge fan, to put it that way. Tavros made his way back to the morgue, which he felt he had been visiting a few times too many by now, carrying the empty container under his arm. Taking a few breaths to brace himself for what would be inside, and also just to savor the fresh air while he could, he nudged the door open with his shoulder and stepped inside.* hEEEY, i, uH, gOT YOUR THING,

[05:38] TC: *Kurloz was inside, dressed to the nines in his autopsy gear. With facemask, goggles, smock, gloves and his unruly hair tied back, the mime was looking rather ridiculous while currently elbow deep in the body cavity of a dead human. Judging by the other occupied slab and at least five freezers with placards in place, it seemed Kurloz had received a new shipment from other vessels in the area. Not many wanted to foot the cost of their own morgue and disposal equipment, so instead they would contract the services of Kurloz and the Umbral Ultimatum, making arrangements to transportalize the carcasses there. It kept Kurloz busy.*

[05:38] TC: *He looked up, nodding in greeting to Tavros before he raised one gloved hand, congealed blood clinging to the blue latex as he motioned for Tavros to set it down on his desk, before making another hand signal to indicate he needed a moment to finish up his task.*

[05:45] AT: *Tavros spotted the doctor over by one of the slabs, and-- OH GOD. NOPE. He wasn't prepared for that AT ALL, him taking a small step back, seemingly about to just backpedal the fuck out of the door. He had no idea how on Alternia anyone could put up with a job like this. He tried locking his eyes on Kurloz' face rather than the blood or the corpses or... The everything. Giving him a very strained smile and quick nod. He turned his head away from the direction with the most corpses, staring at his feet as he walked over to the desk and placed the box on it. It seemed like Kurloz wanted him to wait, so he stands by the desk. His back facing Kurloz and the corpses, mind. Just trying not to lose his shit.*

[06:01] TC: *As freaked out as Tavros was, Kurloz appeared to be in his element. It didn't take him long to finish his task, though the sound of slicing meat and creaking bone was likely unpleasant for his company as he finished removing the bit of human organ he needed to run tests on. It was a rather suspicious corpse and not exactly in the best state for how long it went undiscovered and a simple visual examination wasn't sufficient to figure out the cause of death.*

[06:01] TC: *Once the organ was out Kurloz gently placed it upon a scale he had prepared ahead of time, letting it rest there as he stripped off his protective gear to approach Tavros. His patient could wait. With his gear off Kurloz took a moment to thoroughly wash his hands before seeing to his guest. He came up alongside Tavros and reached out to touch his shoulder if somehow he hadn't noticed Kurloz’s approach.*

[06:12] AT: *Happy thoughts Tavros, happy thoughts. He gritted his teeth as he tried blocking out the, frankly, grotesque noises. His usually perked up cowlike ears now drooping unhappily downwards. He was definitely not going here next time. He /would/ say he was far too busy for anything and then Kurloz would be the one that had to move. This was like some nightmare cabinet or something. At least he didn't

[06:12] AT: have to look at it, but only hearing the noises somehow made it worse, since his imagination filled in the blanks. He shuddered, grimacing to himself as the noises finally stopped, but he still wouldn't turn around. Tavros was pretty much in his own little world at this point, or he had at least one leg firmly planted in it. So when Kurloz touched his shoulder he nearly jumped out of his skin. Him turning halway to him with a terrified expression which quickly turned to a strained smile, him letting out a nervous laugh.* hAHAHHH, i, i DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE, wAS JUST, eRR, yEAH, nO, i DIDN'T NOTICE YOU, wHICH IS WEIRD, sINCE YOU'RE SO TALL AND ALL, *He kept rambling until he got over the initial scare, exhaling deeply.* sO YEAH, hERE'S THE THING, *Gestures to the box.* tHANKS FOR LENDING IT TO ME,

[06:28] TC: *Kurloz's smile was sweet as could be even after Tavros' twitchy reaction to his greeting, and Kurloz paid no mind to it, giving the lowblood a short bow in greeting followed by a thumbs up. Thankfully Kurloz didn't seem interested on keeping their conversation to merely miming and he had the same device he had used last time out in short order, attached to his temple with the holographic screen flickering into life between them.*

[06:28] TC: AIN'T NO MOTHER FUCKIN THING, HOMIE. :o)

[06:28] TC: MIGHT I INQUIRE AS TO THE NATURE OF EXPERIMENTS THOU INFLICTED UPON THE AMPHIBIOUS STIFFS WHAT BOUNCED TO THE ECHO SIDE?

[06:34] AT: *He was about to object when Kurloz bowed, but just kept his mouth shut since the guy made it a bit less formal by giving a thumbs up. He nodded in response, his smile a little less strained than before, but still kind of forced. It was really weird how chill Kurloz was all the time, but maybe that is just something that happens in this line of work, you can't exactly put a lot of emotional invest

[06:34] AT: ment into it. That would be pretty exhausting, he imagined. He seemed surprised by the question, but only shrugged.* oH, nO, yOU CAN ASK, iT WASN'T EXACTLY ANY GROUNDBREAKING STUFF, tHOUGH, i MOSTLY GATHERED DNA SAMPLES FROM THE MORE, uH, jUMPY ONES, oR OTHERWISE EXCEPTIONAL ONES, aND JUST TRIED SOME VARIOUS GENE SPLICING WITH THE OTHERS, *He rubs the back of his neck.* iT DIDN'T REALLY WORK OUT,

[06:34] AT: hENCE THE, eRR, bOUNCING TO THE ECHO SIDE,

[06:42] TC: *Kurloz nodded as he listened, reaching up to cup one elbow while his other hand gently tapped his chin in thought. He was really quite attentive, and once Tavros finished his head tilted inquisitively as words flared up on the screen. Mixing body language that often accompanied speech with words on a screen could be a little peculiar for people, perhaps Tavros would be caught less offguard by the necessity to split attention between the ludicrously tall troll and the hologram that pulsed closer to the lowblood’s eye level..*

[06:42] TC: HAHAHA. TIS A LURID SHAME YOU AIN'T BEEN MET WITH AMPLE SUCCESS IN YOUR VIRTUOUS OBJECTIVE. PERHAPS WHAT MARGINALIA WE KEPT MIGHT BE EXCHANGED TO FURTHER OUR RESEARCH. :o)

[06:48] AT: *It was a bit weird having to seperately deal with the text and Kurloz' body language, but at least it was a lot better than just playing the guessing game with him. Even if it made it kind of hard to focus, his eyes constantly darting over to the screen to see if he had a comment, he still much preferred that over the alternative. Letting out another uncertain chuckle, he shrugs his shoulders once more, shoving his hands into his lab coat pockets.* i SUPPOSE THAT'S JUST WHAT IS EXPECTED, wHEN YOU TRY CROSSING A FROG WITH A GRIZZLY BEAR, i KIND OF WENT OVERBOARD, *He seems to relax a little by now, since talking about work was easy, and distanced him from the whole OPEN BODIES situation.* hMM, mAYBE, tHAT COULD WORK, i SUPPOSE,

[06:58] TC: DID ANY TRUE MONSTROSITIES HATCH FORTH FROM THAT UNHOLY UNION, OR WAS THE SUBJECT LEFT TO EXPIRE IN MEDI-MOTHERFUCKIN-OCRITY?

[06:58] TC: *Kurloz's hands dropped, dangling at his sides as he stared down at Tavros, eager for a response. he seemed genuinely intrigued by the concept of splicing things together, his expression appearing a bit too eager for whatever response Tavros could offer. Don't get any ideas, Kurloz.*

[07:05] AT: *Tavros didn't seem that worried over the overly eager expression on Kurloz' face. He actually seemed more surprised than anything. It wasn't often that people had a genuine interest in what he was doing. He seems to think about the question for a little bit, biting the inside of his cheek.* wELL, nOTHING CAME OUT ALIVE, oR STABLE IN THE END, iF THAT'S WHAT YOU MEAN, eRGH, tHE RESULTS ARE PRETTY MONSTROUS THOUGH, sO i GUESS, *He shrugs, grimacing. It really wasn't a pretty sight whenever something did go wrong, it usually being a horrific twitching pile of flesh and limbs, which Tavros SOMEHOW found less nightmare fuely than "regular" dead bodies.* bUT, nO, tHEY ALL PRETTY MUCH EXPIRED, oR i HAD TO HELP THEM DO SO, *He sighs.* uSUALLY IT GOES BETTER,

[07:15] TC: *There was a difference in dealing with the mutated corpses of creatures who only had a mild understanding of the world they lived in and creatures who were sentient with lives, goals and loved ones of their own. It took someone able to remain emotionally detached to handle a job like that, especially when corpses came in after a particularly grisly death. The troll who did handle it allowed his eyes to widen a bit at the news of Tavros' results, leaning back just a touch as a wide grin grotesquely deformed his lips and mouth around those thick black stitches.*

[07:15] TC: DO ANY OF THE CARCASSES YET EXIST UPON THIS PLAIN? I'VE A NOTION TO PEEP UPON THAT MUTILATED FLESH AND FIND THE TRANSFORMATIONS SUCH VENTURES HATH WROUGHT. :o)

[07:22] AT: *Okay, THIS expression made Tavros a tad worried. Science is pretty radical and all, but that grin was just something else. Suppose he couldn't really help it, since his mouth was stitched up. Tavros made a kind of noncomittal "eeeh" noise before answering.* mOST OF THEM i HAVE DISPOSED OF, bUT i DID PUT ONE OR TWO ON JARS TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG, bY ANALYZING THE TISSUE AND WHATNOT,

[07:22] AT: bUT, uHH, i GUESS YOU CAN HAVE A LOOK AT IT, *It really sounded like he said that as a question, not too sure wether or not it was a good idea to let anyone see it, really. Although, if someone could stomach it, it would most definitely be Kurloz.* i COULD BRING YOU ONE OF THEM,

[07:30] TC: *Kurloz raised a hand, shaking his head in a quiet denial of Tavros offer, though it wasn't a flat denial by any means. His smile remained broad as he pointed to himself and then Tavros, before lifting the hand to guide two fingers to "walk" across the air between them.*

[07:30] TC: YOU SHAN'T NEED TO BRING THY NINJALICIOUS EXPERIMENT HERE, BRO. I'LL OFFER PROPS AT YOU IN YOUR FRESH FUCKIN CRIB WHEN TIME ABIDES SUCH WICKED NOISE.

[07:30] TC: PERHAPS YOU MIGHT REVEAL UNTO ME THE OTHER PRODUCTS OF YOUR LICENTIOUS TOILS. IT WOULD BE A PLEASURE SOLID TO TOUR THE CARNAL CIRCUS WHERE YOUR PRODUCTS OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE DOTH RESIDE. :o)

[07:38] AT: *Oh. Back to miming. He focused on Kurloz' gestures, but it was pretty straight forward, so he looked fairly quickly back at the screen.* oH, wELL OKAY, *He turned back to face Kurloz again once he read all of it.* sURE, iF YOU FEEL LIKE COMING OVER THEN i WON'T STOP YOU, aND AGAIN, eRR, sURE, yEAH, i MEAN IT IS NOT THAT INTERESTING, sINCE THEY ARE ALL JUST ON JARS AND THAT,

[07:38] AT: bUT, yEAH, nO, cOME OVER WHENEVER YOU HAVE THE TIME AND i CAN SHOW YOU WHAT i HAVE,

[07:42] TC: *Kurloz seemed rather pleased with that decision. Tavros got a double thumbs up and an enthusiastic nod for his offer. Just you wait, Tavros. Soon you will have a mime all up in your workplace and awkwardly taking up space. The coroner shall soon make his escape to the more wholesome parts of the ship.*

[07:42] TC: AIGHT MOTHERFUCKER. NOW IF YOU AIN'T MIND I GOT A PATIENT WHAT LAYS WAITING FOR MY TENDER TOUCH. ;o)

[07:46] AT: *He smiles sheepishly at the reaction, really not used to that kind of enthusiasm, but nods and gives him a thumbs up in return. His smile got kiiind of lopsided and strained at that last comment. "Tender" and "CORPSES" didn't really add up in his book.* eR, yEAH, sORRY FOR TAKING UP YOUR TIME AGAIN, *He fidgets, laughing meekly.* i SUPPOSE i'LL SEE YOU WHENEVER YOU FIND THE TIME, sO, sEE YOU AROUND, *He gives a little wave, turning on his heel and leaves the morgue, perhaps a tad too quickly than what would be considered a normal pace.*

[07:50] TC: *Kurloz returned the wave once Tavros moved to escape, though he didn't waste too much time in heading to the cabinet to redress in fresh protective gear. Even as cold as the morgue was kept, flesh was a ticking time bomb to putrescence so he did have to put a little hurry into his step before vital evidence became victim to decay. After pulling on a fresh smock he glanced to the door to see if Tavros was still in sight (everyone seemed to want to hurry away from his "office", he noted), before finishing up preparing to get back to work. Tavros would see the mime again soon enough.*