NecRomance

"Hey Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is there a hand on the counter?"

A bang, followed by rushed footsteps climbing the stairs from the basement. A thick shroud of auburn hair poked up from the top of the stairs, followed by the peculiar girl's hazelnut eyes. "Is it missing a finger?"

"The middle one." Lilac responded, standing by the counter with a hip out, a hand on it while the other held her mug of coffee, bringing it up to her lips for a long sip. She stood, observing the dismembered hand on their kitchen counter, grayed flesh resting in a partially opened plastic bag.

"Fuck, thaaaat's where I left it." She popped up from the stairs, standing in her full diminutive stature as she stretched, hands clasped in the air as she bent to one side and then the other, back cracking with what might as well have been ice from the chill under their home. Lilac rolled her eyes, cautiously reaching out with her free hand to tug the plastic around the bloody exposed bone of the wrist, picking up the bag to hand it to Rose as she took another sip from her coffee, steam rising from it.

"I just made a pot if you want some," She said, nodding towards the still fresh pot of coffee resting on the counter behind her. "You should take a break anyways, you've been at it all night." Rose perked up at the promise of black gold, coming to pass Lilac with a short but tight hug around her waist before ghosting by to snatch her mug from one of the bottom cupboards, pouring herself a cup. She wheeled around and made to pass Lilac, who reached out and blocked her with one long arm, setting her cup down behind her as she pulled Rose in, the other hand coming around to wrap her in a tight grasp. Lilac bent over slightly, standing with her back bowed, nose in Rose's hair as she took a deep breath.

"You smell like death."

"I always smell like death."

"Not true. Sometimes you smell like awful shampoo." Lilac teased, pulling a smile from Rose.

"Hey, it's not that bad…" She muttered. Lilac kissed her scalp,

"Yeah yeah, now go take a shower while I make breakfast, okay?"

"But-"

"Okay?"

Rose paused for a long moment.

"Fine. But... Don't let go yet."

"Okay."

~~

The art of necromancy is simple.

You take to give.

You can take from anywhere, the rookie mistake is to plug a tap into yourself and not know how to turn the spigot when it starts rushing.

The heat in the room is usually taken without thought, it's a common draw. Really, it's hard not to take this. Another good source? The dead. There's a little bit of life in all of us, even when your heart stops moving it all about. It stays, in the form of those that feast on what's left, and the remnants of a twitch in your fingers. Certain parts have more than others, you'll be lucky to find a heart, extremities and many of the other organs. Avoid the brain and lymphatic system, they come with complications.

A more lucrative, dangerous, dastardly and downright powerful way?

Well, the living, of course. An eye for an eye. The most powerful, potent battery to plug in, also incredibly illegal. Back on the day of the Queen, it was common uncommon practice to use freshly murdered or still breathing animals for rituals, including humans. We're all bags of blood after all. So what if there's a bigger brain attached to one compared to the others?

Obviously, you'll have an entire cartel or four after you if you attempt this method, but it's possible to be generally discreet, as long as you protect yourself first.

The hard part?

Shoving a soul back in.

It's a lot like trying to shove tissues back into a box, but they've all been individually pulled out and now rest in a pile, and you need to put it all back in perfectly as it was before. And that's if you can find the pile, and that's if the wind hasn't snatched memories and traits away. You can always put something else in the original's place, but then it's not really a revival, is it? Usually, a mind rests in a brain, peeling away as it falls apart. If it's frozen, it might last a while, but it is a fight against time. The longer you wait, the more holes you're going to have to patch up in the quilt. It's incredibly complicated to rebuild a brain, and then coax the correct parts into work in the right order.

Often, those who fail, are trapped with their failed attempt, living in their head. There's a little bit of blowback when things go wrong, after all.

Or, a lot.

Better hope you get it right the first time, eh?

~~

"I'm... M'sorry..."

Bleary eyes pulled open, barely enough to tell the moon was still the sole occupant of the shrouded window.

"Please... Stop..."

Long lashes flicked like a spider's legs, twitching as she blinked the sleep from her eyes, hugging the shivering body beside her. Her companion’s shirt was soaked, cold, clammy skin and a thick film of sweat beaded their forehead and hung around their neck like pearls as their eyes shut ever tighter.

"It... Hurts..."

She pulled the smaller one in closer, pressing her head to the top of her chest, such that the auburn coated ear could hear the slow drum of her heartbeat, encased away under skin and bone.

"Don't leave... Me... Again..."

"Shhh... Shhh..." She whispered, voice softer than their pillow as she rubbed her necromancer's back, palm gentle as it glided up and down, fingers pressing lightly against the ridge of her spine. "I'm here… I'm here…" She mumbled, barely half awake.

"Mmgh..."

Lilac did not relent, holding her red haired darling close and tight as she whispered softly, breath coming slow and steady.

"You're okay. It's okay. Nobody's gonna hurt you. You're not losing me."

The distressed mumbles ground to a stop, Rose's arms slowly tightening about Lilac's waist as she sniffled, still asleep. She could rest easy again. Lilac sighed quietly with relief.

"Sleep good, stupid." She whispered, kissing the sunburn's scalp.

~~

"Hey babe?"

"Mhm?"

"Promise you won't fall asleep this time?"

"With your boney legs?"

The two shared a short laugh as Lilac wrapped her arms around Rose's knee, cheek squished against Rose's thigh as she lay across the couch, feet resting over the arm. A blanket was settled over her, draping off the couch to the floor, another wrapped around Rose's shoulders, coming down to replace Lilac's hair.

"Said the same thing last time." Rose responded, hitting play. Lilac rolled her crystal blue eyes,

"No promises. I'll do my best. You're just so comfy and warm...." She mumbled, eyelids already growing heavy as the drumroll and trumpets opened up the new film they'd picked out for the night.

Just the two of them, blankets, a movie and a few heart-stopping snacks, nothing could ever go wrong...

~~