[ this is what she tells herself, at least, as she regards his body. it's easier to picture being able to break off his clavicle in her hands than trying to use a knife to somehow saw through bone.
she starts with the knife, cutting under his clavicle, because she has to be able to get at the bone. his body has already lost some of its heat by now, which makes the whole affair even more uncanny, and she takes no joy in the task. blood leaves her hands slippery, and as she realizes that even cutting him open will still necessitate reaching inside of his body, she resolves herself to making more cuts, to cleaving open flesh and muscle to expose the bone instead.
it feels somehow more morbid this way, now that she's doing it, but the reality is that there's no 'less morbid' here. she is desecrating his corpse to steal his bones, all so that she'll be able to kill him again if she has to. when she has to. and maybe kill what piece of himself he's left behind in ravka, too.
she closes her blood-slick fist around his clavicle once it's exposed and pulls, bracing her knee on his shoulder. she's not especially strong, alina, but the bone isn't especially thick either. her hands slip off at first, but when she yanks like she really means it, the bone cracks. splinters.
(cw: corpse dismembering)
Okay, I can do that.
[ this is what she tells herself, at least, as she regards his body. it's easier to picture being able to break off his clavicle in her hands than trying to use a knife to somehow saw through bone.
she starts with the knife, cutting under his clavicle, because she has to be able to get at the bone. his body has already lost some of its heat by now, which makes the whole affair even more uncanny, and she takes no joy in the task. blood leaves her hands slippery, and as she realizes that even cutting him open will still necessitate reaching inside of his body, she resolves herself to making more cuts, to cleaving open flesh and muscle to expose the bone instead.
it feels somehow more morbid this way, now that she's doing it, but the reality is that there's no 'less morbid' here. she is desecrating his corpse to steal his bones, all so that she'll be able to kill him again if she has to. when she has to. and maybe kill what piece of himself he's left behind in ravka, too.
she closes her blood-slick fist around his clavicle once it's exposed and pulls, bracing her knee on his shoulder. she's not especially strong, alina, but the bone isn't especially thick either. her hands slip off at first, but when she yanks like she really means it, the bone cracks. splinters.
it comes away in her hand. ]