Revolutionary *ABANDONED*

Cerulean Detective

*This is abandoned as of 05/22/20, it may be picked back up later*

Walking into the palace, a ripe, exuberant, copper scent infiltrated their senses. A soft frown wore itself onto Aranea's face, her eyes searching the foyer. The room was eerily pristine, the smell throwing her off. Her gaze rested on her much younger partner, indigo-blooded Equius Zahhak. His eyes were riddled with horror, only barely masked by his sunglasses. Aranea turned to the Queen of their kingdom, Feferi Peixes, who stood by nervously.

"It smells like its been here for weeks," Feferi said, in between shallow, staggering, breaths. "But that's just not possible. Meenah and I ate dinner in here just before the speech last night." Aranea noted her weepy eyes, turning back to Equius. Aranea squinted at the Queen.

"How did you say you found the body?"

"I didn't find it," she explained. "Meenah did. She was playing with her little friend this morning, and, suddenly, I heard her scream." Feferi paused. "She was so scared." A teardrop escaped, dripping down her face and onto the polished tiles. "I came running, along with some guards, and to our horror, there was... You know." Feferi shuttered at the memory. "She doesn't even seem bothered, which may be a blessing, or a curse. I can't tell yet." Aranea nodded towards the fuchsia blood's account. Equius, who had stood idly until that point, spoke up.

In a gruff, guttural voice, he said, "I'm being led to believe that this may be the result of a hate-crime." A grim pallor had resolved on his features. Feferi gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. Slowly, she retreated from the room out of the front entrance. Aranea and Equius bore a look of despair. The woman dared to traverse forward, leaving the Queen to sulk outside. Equius kept up.

"You shouldn't have told her that. Not every lowblood death is a part of some casteist conspiracy. People of that kind aren't exactly known to be... Hospitable. It was probably done by their own caste." Aranea spoke, removing the gloves from her box of varying forensic tools. She tossed a pair in Equius' direction, then pulled her own over her long, slender, fingers. Equius clicked his tongue, disagreement settled in his mouth.

"I only say that because of the speech last night. The rust, bronze, and golds have been rather riled up over it." His forehead glistened in the light, nerves apparent. He wiped it away with his forearm. "My brother showed up rather late last night, leading me to question his whereabouts. He said that it wasn't my business. I am sure he has been off with that bronze. He has acted so bizarrely as of late. Almost calm, which isn't like his typical behavior." Equius's face shifted to discomfort. "I'm afraid he will be killed."

Aranea shared a sympathetic smile. "You can't control him, he's a grown man. If he gets in trouble, it's on his own terms. Horuss has always been a free-bird anyway, hasn't he?" Equius crossed his arms, averting his eyes to the floor.

"Yes."

"Why don't we get on with the investigation?" She suggested. Equius gave a brief nod, face hardening. Aranea shifted her focus to the overwhelming scent before them. "This room is so... Clean." She observed several gold-rimmed paintings along the walls, along with an assortment of vases, one of which was shattered on the tiled floor. Juxtaposed to the remnants of the vase were bloodied claw marks. Five miniature, crimson, trails sprinkled with bits of torn fingernail laced the floor, leading to another room. "I think it's safe to say, she struggled for a little bit." The pair couldn't help but grimace. Aranea took a deep breath in, following the scent, leading her to the room adjacent to the foyer. Equius followed closely behind.

Before them laid a mess of chairs, a flipped table, and large patches of deep red and bronze blood. Aranea's eyes welled up, with her hand she wafted the smell away from her, but the metallic tinge already seemed to infiltrate her brain. She could taste coins. The two took a moment to regain their posture before continuing forward. Every other step, they had to take a wide stride over blood splatter. On the ground, they found more rust-colored blood, as well as several strands of hair. Some were of incredible length, nearing three feet. Others were shorter, only centimeters long. Along the floor, there was also tattered cloth, saturated with the two reoccurring blood colors. Her stomach began doing flips, as the trail led them to a slightly ajar door. The door showed bloodied scratch marks, a shiver went down her spine. They sauntered closer to the room, the smell becoming too much to bear.

Aranea took in a deep breath. In one fluid motion, Aranea opened the door. The scent plaguing them earlier rushed into the room. Her mind was consumed with disgust, but she quickly forgot it when entering the room. In a heap on the floor lay the body, noticeably a woman's. She had impossibly long hair, and a small body, both skinny and short. She had a perfect hourglass figure. Her clothes were slightly torn, but still intact. Aranea turned to Equius, hoping to evaluate his thoughts, but he haphazardly left the room in a hurry. She rolled her eyes, stepping into the gored room. Blood covered almost every inch of the room, even, she noticed, on the ceiling. Deep crimson had pooled around the body, as well as a pattern of browning orange blood around the corpse.

'The smell makes it seem like she was here for weeks, but the exposed skin looks so smooth and fresh.' Aranea kept making keen observations. Several clumps of hair were missing from her scalp, and her red makeup seemed smeared. Small tattoos were revealed under the torn sleeve on her arm, and her hand clenched an unfinished cigarette. Aranea pulled out a small notepad, beginning to write down small details. While she was distracted with the intricacies of the body, Equius returned, his sunglasses having been removed. He had large indigo bags underneath his eyes. Hearing his heavy footsteps, Aranea looked at him with a grin.

"I didn't take you to be so squeamish." She chuckled. She looked deeper at the hands on the corpse. The unbroken fingernails had violet skin underneath them. Aranea's eyes formed a conflicted expression. She looked toward Equius, lacking understanding at the evidence laid before them.

"There may be some sort of discrepancy in this-" Aranea started, she realized a distinct sense of panic on his face and dropped what she was saying.

"I think I know her," Equius said, a haunting tone in his voice. He began fidgeting in place, twirling his lengthy hair between his fingers. "A few days ago, Damara Megido disappeared, she was from the dangerous part of town. She went out, apparently on some sort of business venture, but never returned home. She... Um... Matches the description, rather exceptionally. Long hair, short stature, rustblooded. He paused, one hand clenched tightly around the fabric of his shirt, the other resting on his forehead. Aranea glared at him.

"Do you read every missing persons file in the office?" Her tone was stern, obviously doubting his credibility. Equius firmly shook his head, sweat forming on his brow. He cast her a worried glance.

"I knew her personally." He said, directing a hasty glance at the body once again. "Seeing her like this..." He unconsciously shivered, unable to face the corpse any longer.

Aranea swiftly stepped away from the body, turning toward the nervous indigo before her. Her eyes squinted, scrutinizing him, questioning his patchwork knowledge of the inferior casted woman before them.

"How did you know her? You're not exactly... A rustblood." Equius jumped, surprised at the statement, but settled himself down only seconds later.

"I-I am... Was friends with her younger sister, Aradia. Apart from that, my recollection of her is limited." He replied. Aranea shrugged, seemingly satisfied with his answer, dropping back down to the body. Damara Megido's body.

"Did she happen to hang out with any bronze bloods?" She asked, once again filling the scene in her notebook. Equius shrugged.

"It wouldn't be irrational to assume that she does. Did. She lived in the slums." Aranea scrunched up her nose in frustration, hoping for a clearer answer.

"Maybe we should pay the younger Megido a visit after a little more investigation. You remember where she lives?" Aranea asked. Equius looked away, but gave an affirming nod. "Then it's decided." She exclaimed. "We're heading to the Megido's after we're done. Is that cool with you?" She asked.

"I... Uh... Yes, we should." He responded, looking at the puddles of blood covering the room. "We should, for Damara."