empathicfault | IC Inbox

The same. [Conceded.] But... their skin isn't accidentally a disguise. [He reaches out for Will, for whatever he can grasp at with his fingertips: the edge of Will's shirt, the pocket of his pants.] Though... you do already see through all disguises.

[ Will sets the teapot down to steep, which happily leaves him open to put his hand up to cup Malcolm's chin as he looks at him. ]

I do. You'll only be revealing more of what I already see.

[ His voice takes on a slightly amused tone. ]

Might wanna look more closely at our snakes, though. They shed when they're getting bigger, right? And I think they're always more vibrant when they're done.

[Malcolm smiles.]

Well, okay they're bigger. And shinier. They didn't mess up that skin with dust and scratches yet. ...Do you think if the shame layer falls off... some of the shallower scars will go with it? Not the ones that made me. Just some of the ones I got along the way since then.

I do think that. I think you'll shed scars you didn't even know you had, ones you're only able to recognize as they fall away from you.

[ He steps forward and gives Malcolm a gentle kiss. After fixing his eyes with Malcolm's (rather bloodshot, but still beautiful) ones, he moves back to the tea. ]

Put that pack back on your eyes, sweetheart. You're turning even more colors now. I'll guide you to the couch after I get the tea in the living room.

[Malcolm smiles in the wake of the kiss, and at the instructions, he brings the ice pack to his eyes again. The cool lessens the throbbing in the bridge of his nose and he breathes out in relief.]

Maybe you can read to me?

[Since it will be kind of hard for him to watch TV like this. Or read a book himself.]

Once we get settled over there.

I'd love to.

[ After about half a minute of moving everything into the living room, he's at Malcolm's side again. After placing a kiss to the back of Malcolm's head, he considers a moment and hefts Malcolm up into a bridal carry, a small smile on his face. ]

I've got you, you just keep that pack on. What should I read? I've just got some entomology studies, at the moment.

[It surprises him, but pleasantly, when Will picks him up and he steadies himself with his near arm looped around Will's neck.]

Oh? Are they about the role of insects in decomposition? [Asked with interest.]

[ Will chuckles. ]

You got me. Found it in the library, and it seems to be from a few years ahead of us. The section I'm reading now is detailing how a certain type of silverfish seems incentivized towards a corpse in the very early stages of decomposition, when there's usually only blowflies. They tend to throw off time-of-death estimates, because they go to town on the clothes. Lazy forensic specialists, beware.

[ He gently sets Malcolm down on the couch. Buster has been following them and jumps up on the same time, near immediately trying to get in Malcolm's lap. Will drapes the blanket over and around Malcolm, and the dog wiggles and runs out from under it with a small yap. ]

That's wild! Does it happen in a particular climate or can it happen anywhere?

[Will sets him down and Buster jumps up only to be indignant in being thwarted by the blanket and Malcolm laughs.]

Was that Buster? [Didn't feel like Winston.] Where did he go?

[ Will finally lets himself laugh, too. Meanwhile Buster does a circle and plops down next to a pillow. He looks for all the world like he's pouting. ]

It was Buster. I like to keep him on his toes sometimes. Otherwise, he'll start thinking he owns the place. He is...currently sulking on the floor, but I'm sure he'll come up again soon.

[ Will grabs the book he'd been reading and sits next to Malcolm, close enough to already be leaning on each other. ]

And I think that particular subspecies appear in high humidity areas- average seventy percent or more, but I'll have to check. The tea tray's on the coffee table, by the way.

[ Even if he's sure Malcolm can already smell it. He'll let Malcolm get his own tea, at least. ]

I love that. [The bug facts.] Can they calculate how much it throws time of death estimates off by?

[He leans forward and carefully finds his mug by feel with his free hand, the other hand still holding the ice pack on his face. He curls against Will's side once he has it in his hand.]

Is it a significant amount?

[ There's a short pause as Will opens the book and looks through a couple pages. ]

Anywhere from 12 hours to five days. Because the clothes are eaten in the earliest stages of decomposition, and silverfish larvae with adult silverfish are indicative of the active decay stage, it can be anywhere from 4 days to 15.

[ He continues, almost smoothly transitioning into reading aloud from that point in the book. He pauses at one point to note that this type of silverfish- Ctenolepisma devriesiana- otherwise acts the same as the subspecies he's familiar with, the common paper silverfish. ]

It just seems to have evolved to 'get the jump' on the other carrion insects. I'd bet that they're attracted to something the blow flies give off, personally.

But they don't feed on the body or the blow flies?

They don't feed on the body all that much, but they do lay eggs on it. They're not expecting people to come by and remove the clothes, after all. They also--

[ He flips back a few pages. ]

They tend to be an indicator to other carrion insects that the buffet's ready, too. So things like dung beetles and moths might arrive earlier as well, which would muddy the data even further. Give the body the look of being in early active decay, even if it's still in the process of bloating.

Wow! That could mess up the investigation, messing with the timing of alibis… unless the victim is wearing a smart watch. Those things are the best thing to happen to murder investigations. They tell you the exact time the victim’s heart stopped beating.

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